LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
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Chap. Copyright No... 

Shelflf a-f3 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



FABRI CONCIONES 



SERMONS 



OF 

REV. M. FABRI, S. J., 

TRANSLATED FROM THE LATIN 
By REV. M. J. CONWAY. 



NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO 

CHRISTIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION PUBLISHING CO. 

IQOO 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED, 

Library of Congret* 

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MAY21 1900 i^A(754 

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SECOND COPY, 



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THE SERMONS OF 

REVEREND M. FABRI, S. J., 

SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. 

THE TRANSLATOR KINDLY ASKS THE 

INDULGENCE OF THE 

ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY 

TO WHOM THE WORK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED. 



Copyright, 1900, 

By CHRISTIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



FIRST SUNDAY OP ADVENT. 

WHAT SHOULD AROUSE US FROM THE SLEEP OF SIN ? 



I. The vanity of sleep. II. The time of grace. III. The snares of 
the enemy. IV. The approach of reward. V. Present and 
future calamities. — -y— ' — -< — — « — , — -*-— n 

"It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep " (Romans 13 : 11). 

To-day we begin to expect our Lord who will shortly come 
to us, and for this reason, Holy Mother Church, to arouse us 
from the sleep of sin and to urge us to go forth like the pru- 
dent Virgins, cries out in the words of St. Paul : " Brethren, 
it is now the hour to rise from sleep, for our salvation is 
nearer." 

By these words she means what Christ and John the Bap- 
tist meant in the beginning of their preaching, namely : 
" Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is near at hand." 
At this time we should strive by all means to have Christ, on 
the day of his nativity, born in us in a new and spiritual 
manner ; and to accomplish this we must rise from the sleep 
of sin. 

For as when, in the time of Augustus, Christ was born in 
Bethlehem, the glad tidings were made to those only who 
were tending and watching their flocks at nia:ht ; so they 
only will be joyful and partakers of the fruit of Christ's birth 
who, having risen from the sleep of sin, are watching in pen- 
ance and works of virtue. 

" It is now the hour." These were the words that 
aroused St. Augnstine from the sleep of sin, as he himself 
says that, having been warned by a divine voice to take up 
and read, by accident he opened the book at the words: 
" Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chamberings and 
impurities, not in contention and envy. But put ye on the 



2 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

Lord Jesus Christ ; " and at once he was changed into 
another man. Cannot this same voice arouse other sinners ? 

I. The vanity and danger of deadly sleep. St. Chrysostom 
says : "The night is passed ; let us rise from dreams, for, 
though they be pleasant, they are nevertheless delusions" 
(Horn. 62 ad Pop.). Sleep indeed brings rest to man but not 
delight, for its sweetness is not perceived by any one, as then 
all the powers of body and mind are fast asleep, the imagina- 
tion only is working, by which the dreamer pictures to himself 
dignities, honor, delights and wealth, and revels in them as 
though in actual possession ; but after he has awakened he sees 
that what he thought was his is a mere illusion and a dream. 
Such, according to the apostle, is the state of the sinner, 
whose higher reason, which should attend to eternal and 
spiritual things, is fast asleep. 

The lower reason alone, which attends to temporal things, 
is watchful and delights in the possession of earthly goods ; 
after awhile it shall awake and clearly see eternal things 
and shall then understand that all temporal things are vain 
and imaginary ; the only true and solid ones being eternal. 
Philip the Good of Belgium very happily illustrates this. 
Having found a man asleep outside the palace gate he or- 
dered him brought in and laid on the royal couch. On the 
following day he had him clothed in princely attire and 
shown all the honor possible. When night came, the man, 
being drunk with wine, was clothed in his own garments and 
placed where at first he had been found. Awaking on the 
following day, he rightly concluded that the princely life he 
led was all a dream. 

The same thing shall happen to sinners and lovers of this 
world when, on opening the eyes of their higher reason, they 
behold eternal things, they shall acknowledge that they had 
been dreaming and that earthly pleasures were mere illusions. 
(i And as he that is hungry dreameth, and eateth, but when 
he is awake his soul is empty : and as he that thirsteth 
dreameth, and drinketh, and after he is awake is yet faint 
with thirst, and his soul is empty : so shall be the multitude 
of all the Gentiles that have fought against Mount Sion " 
(Isaias 29 : 8). 

These, while they enjoy pleasures, consider themselves 
blessed and that they are kings and princes, seated in the 
clouds, and rate all other men as crawling ants. They do not 
see that they alone are poor and naked and miserable mortals. 



WHAT SHOULD AROUSE US FROM SLEEP OF SIN? 3 

This truth shall be made known to them on the day when 
naked they shall be returned to mother earth, whence naked 
they were born ; when they shall open their eyes they shall 
see how transitory were all earthly things. " They have slept 
their sleep : and all the men of riches have found nothing in 
their hands" (Ps. 75 : 6). The danger of this sleep is that 
through habit it binds men to earth. That is what happened 
to Sisara, through whose brains, Jahel, Haber's wife, drove 
nails into the ground : ' ' and so passing from deep sleep to 
death he fainted away and died" (Judges 4 : 21). Thus he 
who sleeps with his mind filled with worldly thoughts will soon 
be nailed to earth by the nail of habit, so that he cannot rise, 
and in the meantime he dies to awaken in hell. It often 
happens that, to avoid the heat, one lies down under a tree ; 
but after an hour or so, the shade is pierced by the rays of 
the sun, and then his head begins to ache. 

Sinners make a tree of earthly goods which God has given 
them ; beneath it they rest and inordinately rejoice, when 
suddenly the worm of death gnaws at its root and saps its 
life. Then they experience the burning wind of a bad con- 
science and see themselves in the flames of hell. 

This is what happened to the rich man Dives in the Gospel. 
Looking up from his gloomy prison, he saw Lazarus in the 
bosom of Abraham. He had followed his lower reason and 
had sated himself with earthly delights, while the poor man 
followed his higher reason and looked on all worldly things 
as illusions. 

II. The advent of light, that is, Christ in the flesh, or the 
time of grace : the dawn has appeared and it is time to rise. 
As the dawn comes between night and the full light of day, 
so the time of grace comes between the darkness of infidelity 
and sin and the light of heavenly glory. Before the coming 
of Christ the Gentiles walked in darkness, not knowing 
whither they were going — to death or to life. Aristotle, the 
most learned of philosophers, when dying said : ({ I know 
not whither I go. I know not if both body and soul shall 
die ; and if the soul does not die, I know not whither it goes." 
They could not easily order their lives, since they did not 
know if the way led to heaven or to hell. The night for 
them was most obscure. The fathers of the Old Testament 
lived in darkness, but not altogether obscure, since they 
were illumined by prophetic lights as by stars ; yet they 
walked in the shadow of figures and in the expectation of a 



4 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

future light ; nor did they clearly know the road to heaven 
and the road to hell, for they had the darkness of errors in 
their ceremonies, laws, traditions, and in the very intellect, 
because they had not yet seen the Light of the world nor 
had heard the voice of the unerring guide, Christ. " All 
were under a cloud/' says St. Paul. The blessed in heaven, 
in the full light of day, see all things most clearly " face to 
face." 

We Christians have the dawn, since we have Christ, 
and we know with him as leader and guide how we must 
journey to heaven. We know, also, the way that leads to 
perdition, although we do not see the end of the road, God 
and glory, to which we are tending. f < For we know in part 
and we prophesy in part" (1 Cor. 13). Therefore, when the 
hour of rising is the dawn, it is time for us to rise from the 
sleep of sin. What would the Gentiles not have done if they 
had this light ? The fathers of the Old Testament, beholding 
and saluting this light from afar only, the nearer they ap- 
proached it aspired more ardently to every species of perfec- 
tion. Hence the Church, with St. Thomas, urges us to rise 
from sin and to strive earnestly for virtue, because the com- 
ing of the Saviour is nearer than before. What would they 
have done if they had seen Christ ? Justly, then, will Jew 
and Gentile condemn the Christian sleeping in sin. 

It is extremely dangerous to neglect such an opportunity 
for meriting, as the light is, as the Apostle indicates when 
he says : " Knowing the time," that is, the time is short. 
The whole of that time you spend in sin you lose, and you 
throw away all the good deeds that you could have stored up 
for yourself. If a rich city were given over to plunder to 
the soldiers who made all haste to secure the booty, and one 
of their number lay down to sleep under a tree, saying that 
he would take another time to secure his portion, would not 
the others laugh at him and call him a fool ? When at this 
precious time the kingdom of heaven is given over to us to 
take away, " for it surfers violence, and the violent take it 
away," should not every prudent person hasten to share the 
booty, those heavenly treasures ? The sinner not only loses 
these treasures, but heaps up for himself most bitter punish- 
ments. Just as the interest on a loan increases until the 
debt is paid, so sins not soon wiped out in penance merit 
greater punishment and easily draw others, and so increase 
the rate of punishment. 



WHAT SHOULD AROUSE US FROM SLEEP OF SIN? 5 

III. The snares of our enemies. Some are within us, 
namely, sins which lay siege to the conscience and keep it in 
a continual state of turmoil, than which nothing in this life 
seems more atrocious ; nor is there any other way of quieting 
the enemy but that of penance. Added to these are enemies 
from without — the devils themselves, who hold the sinner in 
slavery, and who desire nothing more than that he be taken 
out of this life or that power would be given them to 
kill him, lest he should slip from them. If the sinner only 
knew how they exult over him, and what cunning they use 
to ensnare him, he certainly would tremble and rise from his 
sleep immediately. Do we not know the story of Samson and 
Dalila ? He had slept, and in that sleep she cut off his hair, 
thus depriving him of his strength and leaving him to the 
mercy of the Philistines, who plucked out his eyes and cast 
him into prison (Judges 6). In the same way the sinner, 
filled with the delights of this world, sleeps in his sins ; then 
the evil ones surround him on all sides, despoil him of his 
love of virtue and power of resisting temptation, blind him 
and drag him into hell. And how easily does the world he 
loved cast him off and leave him on the broad road to ruin I 
This twofold enemy the Apostle speaks of in to-day's epistle : 
ts Let us put off the works of darkness and put on the arms 
of light" (Rom. 13). What are the works of darkness un- 
less sins ; the arms of light unless those to be used against 
the snares of the demons ? 

IV. The nearness of the promised reward, " for our salva- 
tion is near at hand." This is the same argument Christ 
and John used when they said : " Do penance, for the king- 
dom of heaven is at hand." It is at hand because now, after 
the coming of Christ, we are not far from the kingdom of 
heaven ; we are n earing the end of our earthly journey, the 
gate of heaven has been opened with the key of the cross of 
Christ, and if there be no obstacle, we can fly there at once, 
not like our forefathers who died before Christ, for some 
had to wait in Limbo a hundred — a thousand and more 
years. Our years on earth are shorter than were those of 
the patriarchs and prophets. If an exile, after a long ab- 
sence, on reaching his native land acquires new strength and 
runs more swiftly ; if horses, though tired, begin to run as 
they near their stable, should not Christian men rise from 
their sleep and gain new strength, running more swiftly to 
blessedness the nearer they come to it ? Since heaven is our 



6 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

true home, should we not strive to hasten thither ? The 
sinner prefers to be a citizen of this world rather than of 
heaven ; but since no one can be a citizen of this world for- 
ever, he will lose both heaven and the world, like the Jews, 
who, according to St. Augustine (Tract 49 in John), feared 
to lose their temporal possessions when they said : " The 
Romans will come, and they will take away our place and 
race." They did not think of eternal life, and so they lost 
both. 

St. Gregory (Book V, Moral. C. 3) says : " Persons dig- 
ging for a treasure become more excited the nearer they 
come to it." The treasure hidden in the field of heaven is 
near the sinner, who can quickly find it by means of the 
sacrament of Penance. Why, therefore, does he not, filled 
with joy, go sell all he has and buy that field ? Does he not 
rather seek the treasure in this world and forget all about 
that in heaven ? Let him take care that he dig not down to 
hell, for salvation is no nearer to the just than perdition is 
to the wicked. If, therefore, the nearness of the heavenly 
treasure does not move him, at least let the nearness of hell 
do so. 

Secondly, the kingdom of heaven is at hand and our sal- 
vation is nearer, because now the grace and mercy of God, 
nay, the kingdom of God, which is bought by grace, is most 
liberally offered to us. Christ says to those seeking that 
kingdom : " Behold, the kingdom of God is in you" (Luke 
17) ; that is, in your hand, in your power, for my grace I 
liberally offer you, and if you have this in you, you will have 
the kingdom of God in you ; for this reason the time of the 
new law is called the time of grace. Why, then, sinner, 
do you hesitate to rise from sleep ? Did you deny 3^our 
God ? But Peter denied him three times and returned to 
grace. The penitent thief found grace with Christ, as did 
Mary Magdalene, Mary of Egypt, St. Paul and others. 

V. The calamities of present and future. Boys are accus- 
tomed to be roused by the rod. God asked Jeremias : 
" What seest thou, Jeremias ? " And he said : " I see a rod 
watching." And the Lord said : " Thou hast seen well : for 
1 will watch over my word to perform it" (Jer. 1 : 11). 

According to the Chaldaic : " You have seen the king of 
the Chaldasans, whom I use to scourge my people because 
they sleep in their crimes. I shall watch over them and 
shall arouse them with the rod." What else does God do 



WHAT SHOULD AROUSE US FROM SLEEP OF SIN ? ? 

with us now ? Do we not see the watchful rod of wars, pes- 
tilence and famine ? And why does it watch over us unless 
because we are sleeping ; it would indeed sleep if we were 
watching ; but because we sleep it watches. When a boy is 
slow rising from bed his father shows him the rod, and 
he rises immediately, otherwise he would not only see it but 
feel it also. Let no one deceive himself, this rod will watch 
as long as we are asleep. Shortly after this vision Jeremias 
saw a boiling caldron, that is, the terrible anger of God, 
which was poured forth and destroyed Jerusalem. If sin- 
ners do not rise at the stroke of this rod, it is to be feared 
that the caldron of fury will be poured on them and finally 
destroy them. " Unless you do penance, you shall all like- 
wise perish" (Luke 13). Let us watch, therefore, with the 
simple shepherds, that we may be worthy to receive the 
Lord. " Blessed is that servant whom, when the Lord will 
come, he shall find watching." 



SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

WHAT MUST BE DONE DURING ADVENT ? 



I. Mortification. II. Purifying Conscience. III. Meditation on 
the coming of Christ. IV. Ardent desire to see Christ. 
V. Almsgiving and preparation for Communion. 

" Art thou he that art to come ? " (Matt, n : 3). 

We know what elaborate preparations are made to re- 
ceive a distinguished visitor. We are expecting now a visit 
from our great Leader, Christ, who is coming to treat of 
what should concern us most, namely, our salvation. Let 
us see what kind of house we prepare for him. Let us 
hear David, who, when he had gathered a great quantity of 
gold, silver, precious stones, and woods for the building of 
the temple, said : " The work is great ; for a house is pre- 
pared not for man, but for God" (1. Paralip. 29 : 1). If 
the whole earth were gold or of a more precious metal, and 
constructed into one magnificent temple, then it would not 
be a suitable footstool for the Lord and Creator. The soul 
free from sin is a fit habitation for God. The Church, 
knowing how basely the Bethlehemites acted who refused 
admittance to the coming Christ and forced him into a 
stable, carefully admonishes us not to be guilty of a like con- 
tempt and receive Christ in the foul stable of our heart, 
lest we provoke his most just anger. The tabernacle of 
our hearts will be pleasing to God, if we build it like the 
one Moses ordered for him. Five things he wished espe- 
cially in it : in the entrance, an altar of holocausts and a. 

8 



WHAT MUST BE DONE DURING ADVENT. 9 

lavatory where the priests should wash before the sacrifice ; 
in the tabernacle a candlestick of many branches, an altar 
of incense and a table. 

I. First then let us erect an altar of holocausts, which is 
the heart immolating itself to God by mortification. This 
ought to be in the entrance that is before we approach the 
holy of holies. The victims to be immolated are the con- 
cupiscences, the delights of the body, all worldly cares and 
desires from which we should withdraw, especially at this 
time. Holy Church invites us to this, while during this sea- 
son she omits the canticles of joy : " Glory to God in the 
highest," and "Holy God, we praise thy name ; " while she 
clothes her ministers and altars in penitential purple. 
The example of holy David invites us. He withdrew from 
the court of King Saul and went to Bethlehem, his own 
city, "because there were solemn sacrifices there for all his 
tribe" (1 Kings 20). What would he have done if he 
knew that there he would find Christ born ? The shepherds 
who were keeping watch over their sheep invite us. When 
they had heard the glad tidings of the birth of Christ, they 
hastened to that ever memorable town saying : " Let us go 
over to Bethlehem and let us see this word that is come to 
to pass" (Luke 2). Let us do likewise, put aside all pro- 
fane delights, all worldly pleasures, and let us go over to 
Bethlehem and witness the solemn ceremonies. Let us with- 
draw as much as possible from all worldly business and give 
more time to the service of God. If our hearts are filled 
with secular things, schemes of ambition, desires of wealth, 
etc., how will there be a place for Christ ? Was not Christ 
excluded from Bethlehem because there was no place in the 
inn ? And why was the altar of holocaust hollow within, 
unless that we should learn to make room in our hearts for 
the reception of Christ ? 

We should carefully observe the fast prescribed, and also 
truly deny ourselves some of those things that delight the 
palate ; and if we are possessed of an abundance, give freely 
to the poor. 

II. A brass lavatory, that is, the sacrament of Penance. 
In this the priests first should wash, then the faithful, who, 
in a manner, can be called priests and who become partakers 
in the mysteries of Christ, before they approach the sacri- 
fice and Communion ; for this reason the lavatory was 
placed in the entrance. Formerly holy water was placed in 



10 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

front of the churches so that the Christians about to com- 
municate might wash their hands, which were to hold the 
Body of Christ. Since, however, we now no longer receive 
Christ in our hands but only in the mouth, it suffices for us 
to cleanse the mouth by a sincere confession and by this 
means the conscience, because through the mouth we trans- 
mit the holy Eucharist to the heart. To this the Church in- 
vites us these days, while she assigns three or four weeks 
before Christmas for us to carefully examine our con- 
sciences and prepare ourselves for the worthy reception of 
the Bread of Life. "He made also the laver of brass, 
with the foot thereof, of the mirrors of the women that 
watched at the door of the tabernacle" (Exod. 38 : 8). 
The women held these mirrors so that the priests could see 
if there were any stains on themselves. St. Gregory says : 
" These mirrors are the precepts of God, in which holy souls 
always see themselves, and, if they discover any stains, they 
wash them away, for they know what is pleasing to God 
and what displeasing. And not without reason are they 
called mirrors of women, for women are so given to behold 
themselves in the mirror, to discover the slightest flaw in 
their appearance, so the examination of conscience should be 
carefully made to see if there be any stain of sin, and, if so, 
to wash it away in penance. 

The example of the patriarch Jacob invites us. When he 
was ordered by God to go up to Bethel and there build an 
altar, he called his household together and commanded them 
to destroy their strange gods, to wash themselves and to 
change their clothing. So let every Christian who is called 
at this time to Bethlehem make an altar of his heart, and 
call his household together, his will, memory and intellect, 
his five senses, and if he finds anything contrary to God, let 
him destroy it. The great St. Augustine on this very Sunday 
thus addressed his hearers: "With the greatest devotion 
and with all our energies, we should prepare^ for this holy 
and desirable, this glorious and singular solemnity — the birth 
of Christ ; and we should most carefully examine ourselves 
and see if there be any hidden sin which is silently gnawing 
our conscience, and which is offensive to the eyes of the 
Divine Majesty." Although Christ after his passion rose and 
ascended into heaven, he watches carefully how each one of 
his servants, without avarice, pride, and anger, strives to pre- 
pare to celebrate his birth ; and according as he sees each one 



WHAT MUST BE DONE DURING ADVENT. H 

adorned with good works will he dispense to him the grace 
of his mercy. If he should see one drunk, avaricious, or 
proud, I fear lest he would say what he said in the gospel : 
" Friend, how have you come here, not having a nuptial 
garment ?" and then, "Let him be bound hand and foot 
and cast into exterior darkness." Let each one then care- 
fully prepare by a good confession to go to Bethlehem. 

If one is invited to a friend's wedding, how careful he is to 
appear in his best ; what should one do when he is about to 
meet his Lord and Saviour ? 

III. The candlestick of many branches signifies the light 
of consideration which during these days should burn in our 
hearts, that we may fully penetrate the excellency and the 
magnitude of the benefit of the Incarnation. For this rea- 
son, during Advent, the Church begins the divine office with 
these words : " Come, let us adore the Lord the King to 
come." She proposes the gospels about the forerunner of 
Christ because he was a burning light ; and so she announces 
to us the magnitude of the King to come, and places before 
us the figures of this mystery and the prophecies of the Old 
Testament. The seven branches of the candlestick repre- 
sent seven circumstances of this benefit : 1. Who will come ? 
He who is the Son of God. Who is not astounded ? If he had 
sent one of the lowest order of angels to liberate us, his ene- 
mies, would it not have been more than enough ? 2. Whence 
will he come ? From the highest heavens — from a royal 
throne — from the bosom of the Father — from the company 
of myriads of angels. 3. Whither will he come ? Into this 
world — this valley of tears — this prison of captives — into the 
region of the shadow of death — into the pool of Siloe filled 
with the suffering and afflicted. 4. To whom will he come? 
To exiles cast out of the garden of Paradise — to his enemies, 
slaves of the devil. 5. How will he come ? " Being in the 
form of God, he debased himself, taking the form of a 
servant, being made to the likeness of men and in shape 
found as a man " (Philip. 2). If to free a slave from death 
an earthly monarch should descend from his throne and be- 
come a slave, would not the world wonder ? But far greater 
was God's descent, which no one could merit. It would 
have been the greatest of all, if in a glorious visible form he 
had wished to illumine the earth by his presence. 6. Why 
will he come ? To free us from the power of darkness — to 
seek his lost sheep — to place him on his shoulder and bring 



12 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

him back to the fold — as a Master to teach us — to give us an 
example in the pursuit of virtue — to make us his sons and 
heirs. 7. When did he come ? " When the night is in the 
midst of her course " (Wisdom 18). When the human 
race was in the densest darkness of ignorance and the whole 
world was in odium. 

IV. The altar of incense on which incense was burned to 
God, signifies the vows and pious desires with which the ad- 
vent of Christ should be desired, that he would be born in 
us and abide with us. As Christ's coming was formerly 
wished and desired by the Prophets and Patriarchs, so he 
wishes to be desired by us, that through his grace he may 
come to us. The Church warns us of this when for eight 
days before the birth she repeats : (i Wisdom come to 
teach us the way of prudence— Adonai, come to redeem 
us — Eoot of Jesse, come to free us — Key of David, come 
to liberate us — Orient, come to illumine us seated in 
darkness — King of races, Emmanuel, come to us," etc. 

In the first place, the faithful should desire Christ to 
come to them in the Holy Encharist, for those who truly 
love rejoice in the presence of the one loved, and desire him. 
To this we should bend all our energy, if we wish to profit 
with great fruit by the coming of Christ, that is, with great 
hunger, to seek him, for " he has filled the hungry with 
good things/' Let us consider the magnitude of this Guest, 
his dignity, sweetness, beauty, riches — our poverty and 
weakness. How the Patriarchs and Prophets desired the 
coming of Christ ! 

Did not " Abraham rejoice to see that day"? — ''Many 
kings and prophets wished to see and did not see." How 
the afflicted tried to come to Christ and touch only the hem 
of his garment ! Was not the paralytic let down through 
the roof and placed at the feet, of Jesus ? All who had a 
great desire to come to Christ were healed. Behold the 
birds of the air — see the young with open mouths in their 
nest waiting food from the parent ! Would that we could 
feel our want — with what appetite we would hasten to Com- 
munion, and with what fruit we would come back ! 

V. The table to receive the twelve loaves of propitiation 
bread signifies, first, almsgiving, which we should specially 
indulge in during these days to conciliate Christ in his poor. 
As we show ourselves to the members of Christ, so will he 
show himself to us. St. Augustin says : " What vanity lost 



WHAT MUST BE DONE DURING ADVENT. 13 

by the palate, let justice through mercy bestow on the poor — « 
what luxury squandered in this world, let piety restore in 
heaven, and although we should always give alms, especially 
during these occasions let us give more freely according to 
our means. It is not just that some during this holy season 
should be filled to satiety and others suffering from hunger." 

Since all are the servants of one God, redeemed with the 
one price, we have entered this world in the same condition, 
in the same we will leave it, and if we live righteous lives we 
shall equally share the same beatitude. And why does not 
the poor with you receive bread, since with you he will re- 
ceive the kingdom ? Why does not the poor receive an old 
garment, since with you he will receive the stole of immor- 
tality ? Why is not the poor worthy of your bread, since 
with you he has been worthy to receive the Sacrament of 
Baptism ? Why is he unworthy to receive the crumbs from 
your table, since he has been invited to the banquet of 
Angels ? 

Let us, therefore, during this season be kind and char- 
itable to the poor. 

Secondly, a preparation for Holy Communion. That in- 
deed was a precious table made of Setim wood, which did not 
easily decay, and which was superior in solidity and beauty 
to all other woods. It was inlaid with gold because it was to 
bear the holy breads. So should our heart be made of Setim 
wood, that is, a firm resolution to amend our lives, and to 
this end it should be covered and adorned with the golden 
virtues of faith, hope, charity, humility, etc. And then that 
Bread of Life which descends from heaven can be placed in it. 
These are the things we must do if we wish to prepare for the 
coming of Christ. It would be better not to receive him 
than to receive him without honor. " Thou has multiplied 
the nation, and hast not increased the joy " (Isaias 9:3). In 
other words : Thou hast illumined many with the splendor 
of thy nativity, but because many excluded that light, thou 
hast experienced little joy. The same thing happens if, 
during these days, many approach Holy Communion — a few 
only properly prepared — a great nation, not a great joy. 
That we may add a great joy to a great nation, let there be 
a great preparation. 



THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

THE CHEAPNESS OF MAN. 



L Man is a stranger and a wanderer. II. The guest of a day. 
III. A blade of grass. IV. A leaf, fearful of uncertain life. 
V. A fleeing or inconstant shadow. VI. A Universal Vanity. 

"Who art thou ? " (John 1 : 22). 

The Delphian philosophers, not without reason, ordered 
to be inscribed in letters of gold in the temple of Apollo the 
words: "Know thyself. " This warning was such as of itself 
to inspire men to strive after happiness. " To know one- 
self," says St. Clement (Book 3 PecL), " is the greatest and 
most beautiful of sciences." St. Bernard, in Med. 0. 3, 
says : " Study to know yourself, for it is much better and 
more praiseworthy to know yourself than neglecting your- 
self, you should know the course of the stars, the growth of 
the plants, the nature of man and beast, the science of things 
heavenly and earthly." There is nothing very many know 
so little about or care to know, as themselves. Plato says : 
"There is scarcely one in ten who knows himself." They 
simply ask of others, (i Who art thou ?" Astronomers ask 
of the heavens, philosophers of nature, lawyers of law, doc- 
tors of sickness, the curious of the world. Let us not be so 
blind, but rather send our ambassadors, the intellect and 
senses, not to others, but to ourselves, and ask of ourselves 
the question, " Who art thou ? " ee I am a voice," replies 
John. What more fitting answer could he give ? For what 
is a voice ? Something flowing which flies from place to 
place ; something momentary which suddenly perishes ; 
something weak which is easily taken unawares ; something 
valueless which returns to nothing ; something rough which 

14 



THE CHEAPNESS OF MAN. 15 

has no signification ; something unsteady which decreases by 
degrees ; something blind which knows not whither it goes. 
Such is man. Therefore, 

I. Who art thou? David answers: "I am a stranger 
with thee, Lord, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were " 
(Ps. 38 : 13). St. Chrysostom says : " David was a great man 
who abounded in glory and wealth, and yet he called himself 
a stranger and wanderer." In so much only was the king 
loved by God as he was a wanderer on earth : by what reason 
then shall we call ourselves citizens ? We are wanderers be- 
cause one after the other we depart hence ; we migrate from 
age to age. Like all the stars that come from the East, 
although they are possessed of great brightness, nevertheless 
they tend to the West, and there, according to different cir- 
cles, some more slowly, some more swiftly, they hide them- 
selves from our view ; so also men. The stars seem to us to 
remain immovable, when, however, they travel most swiftly ; 
so also the days of man, as Job says, " are swifter than a 
courier." " They have passed by as ships carrying fruits, as 
an eagle flying to the prey" (Job 9 :26). No matter how 
fast a courier may hasten, yet at times he must rest ; but our 
years do not rest for a single moment. For when we wish to 
rest in sleep, we do not rest ; but like those sleeping in a 
ship, we are borne to our death. If, therefore, man, you 
are not a citizen of this world, but a stranger and a wan- 
derer, why do you build for yourself as though you were to 
remain here forever ? What means this accumulation of 
riches ? this desire for honors ? this love of fine clothes ? 
What would you say of a traveler who, knowing that he 
should constantly hasten to his country, in the meantime 
would invest in houses and lands ? Would you not advise 
him rather to buy gems and precious stones which he could 
bring to his home ? For this reason St. Peter admonishes 
us : " Dearly beloved : I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims 
to refrain yourselves from carnal desires" (1 Pet. 2:11). 
Let us as merchants buy what we can bring to heaven, good 
works — precious gems of virtues. 

II. Who art thou ? " A guest of one day," says Wisdom 
(5 : 15). Cicero says the life of man is like a guest. He 
comes to-day, enjoys himself, and departs on the morrow. 
When a traveler stops at a hotel (in Europe), he is asked 
what time he is to be called, and what time the light is to be 
brought — so man is scarcely born when he is warned of his 



16 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

death — for in baptism, the lighted candle is placed in his 
hands, warning him to be like the prudent virgins, to be 
always ready for the last summons. In matrimony we have 
the words : " Till death do us part." What then are you ? 
"A guest of one day." How is this shown ? 

First — Many are sound and healthy to-day — to-morrow 
they shall be borne to the grave. I am not so old, and yet 
how many such have I seen ? How many have I heard that 
others saw ? How often has the blushing bride received her 
first kiss from death — her orange-blossoms changed to a 
funeral wreath — her wedding robe to a shroud ! 

Secondly — How small a portion of time belongs to life, if 
you take away what belongs to death ! Childhood and 
youth are not considered the life of man — they are the life 
of little birds ; besides, sleep consumes a third part of our 
lives, and is called by poets "the brother of death." How 
much of life is taken up with cares, trials and afflictions, so 
that one who lives to seventy can scarcely count twenty of 
them life. 

Thirdly — If we compare this life with eternity, it will ap- 
pear but a day ; and truly our life may be likened to the fish 
called Day, because it lives but a day, according to Albertus 
Magnus. How little do we think of the loss of a day ! And 
yet to that fish a day is everything. Although the compass of 
the heavens seems so immense, yet it perfects its course in one 
day ; so man with his life. Life is but a little while, as Christ 
says : "A little while and you shall not see me." Although 
you may live a long time and possess the goods of earth, not 
more than one day at a time is granted you ; only one now 
for your consolation ; for to-morrow you have not — yesterday 
still less, for you had it, and of to-day you cannot have more 
than a single instant at once. If you have great wealth, you 
cannot use it all at once. Such are things human and 
carnal, that before they have scarcely come they have van- 
ished. If, therefore, you are a guest of only a day on this 
earth, why do you prefer momentary to eternal goods ? If a 
guest for a day, why for a little pleasure do you purchase 
eternal torments ? If a guest for a day, why are you impa- 
tient in carrying your cross ? Why do you not make the 
best use of time preparing for eternity ? 

III. Who art thou ? " All flesh is grass, and all the glory 
thereof as the flower of the field " (Isaias 40 : 6). What is 
more perishable than grass ? What more feeble than & 



THE CHEAPNESS OF MAN. 17 

flower ? In heat they languish ; in cutting they die. The 
most delightful thing is a green meadow, the most beautiful 
is a flower ; but that matters little, because when you take 
it in your hands it withers. " The grass is withered and the 
flower is fallen because the spirit of the Lord has blown 
upon it " (Isaias 40 : 7). 

The same author also says that the life of man is more 
frail than the flower or anything else. Glass is frail, but 
with care it may be kept a long time ; but man, no matter 
how he is kept, cannot last. The vase is fragile, but it is 
not broken by the mere touch ; but man perishes by one 
poisonous touch, one bite of a reptile. The flower is frail, 
but it is not destroyed by one gust of wind ; man is destroyed 
by one breath of disease. A bubble is frail, but it is not 
burst by a look ; yet man often succumbs to a poisonous 
look and dies. A pestilential odor, an infectious air, a 
torrid sun, a sharp winter, often take away life. If you ask 
of what did So-and-so die, you will be told a drink of ice- 
water, a sunstroke, from fear, from grief, a few drops of 
poison, a bone in the throat, the bite of a dog, etc., etc., etc. 

Why do clocks stop so often ? A wheel is out of order. 
If this happens in works of brass, how much more easily in 
the delicate mechanism of the human frame ? If, then, 
man, you are but a blade of grass, a flower, why do you 
not provide before death cuts you down ? Why do you 
sleep so long in your sins ? Why do you put off repentance ? 
If, while standing on a frozen lake, the ice should suddenly 
give way beneath your feet and you were immersed in the 
water, would you not cry out for help and seek to be saved, 
since death was staring you in the face ? You surely would 
not laugh and jest. Why not then, during life, seek help in 
penance, since in a most frail body you see yourself daily in 
danger of death, and nothing between it and you but thin ice? 

IV. Who art thou ? "A. leaf that is carried away with 
the wind " (Job 13 : 25) ; that is, living an uncertain and 
doubtful life. As a leaf always trembles on a tree, and at 
length falls or is torn from it, so the life of man always fluc- 
tuates, and in course of time is either violently taken away or 
quietly ceases. Solomon says : ' ( Man knoweth not his own 
end ; but as fishes are taken with the hook, and as birds are 
caught with the snare, so men are taken in the evil time, 
when it shall suddenly come upon them " (Ecclesiastes 9 : 12). 
Another wise man says man is a bubble, frail and evanescent. 



18 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

Some linger a while and then vanish to be succeeded by 
others at intervals. Among men, some die before birth, 
some in infancy, some in childhood, some in old age. Some 
die suddenly, some by fire, some by sword, etc, etc. If, there- 
fore, the end of life is so uncertain, what rashness for us to 
go on unmindful of the words of Christ : u Watch, because 
you know not the day nor the hour " (Matt. 24). 

Why is it that during war sentries are on guard day and 
night ? To watch for the enemy. And we are waging a 
continual war for a heavenly crown, and are our sentries 
always on guard ? — the five senses watching for our arch 
enemv, the devil ? 

V. Who art thou ? A fleeing shadow, " Who cometh 
forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow " 
(Job 14 : 2). For as a shadow now is great, now medium, 
now small, and is nothing ; so man now is well, now sick, 
now joyful, now sad, now quiet, now disturbed, now doubt- 
ful, now certain, now timid, now bold ; now he laughs, now 
he weeps, now he wills, now he does not will. As the shadow 
before noon falls on the right of one facing the meridian, and 
after noon on the left, so man in the morning is good, and in 
the afternoon perchance becomes bad, and so will stand on 
the left of God. As the shadow precedes one receding from 
the sun, and follows one approaching it, so man in this life, 
now is exalted and precedes others, again he is humbled and 
follows others. Among the Eomans, a rod and bell were 
attached to the victor's car, and a crier followed calling out : 
" Look behind thee, remember you are a man," to admonish 
him that should he fall from his high state, he was liable to 
be put to death if he did not watch himself. 

The poets say that all men hang from the threads of the 
fates ; some from strong, others from weak ones ; some from 
a great height, others nearer the earth ; that is the common 
lot of all, for the threads to be cut, with this distinction, 
that the higher one hangs, the greater the tumult caused by 
his fall. This changeableness and inconstancy of man is 
known not only by those who serve the world, but even by 
the Saviour himself, who despised the world. When enter- 
ing Jerusalem, he was received with loud acclaim ; in the 
evening he was deserted. The people went before him with 
green branches, and four days after with these same branches 
dried they struck him ; they spread their garments in his 
way, and afterwards stripped him of his own to scourge and 



THE CHEAPNESS OF MAN. 19 

to crucify hini. They cried out : " Blessed is he who cometh 
in the name of the Lord," and shortly after they called for 
his death : " Crucify him I" 

VI. Who art thou ? Universal vanity. " And indeed all 
things are vanity ; every man living " (Ps. 38 : 6). Man is all 
vanity, for whatever defects are found in other creatures, 
they are all found in man. All the imperfections of animate 
and inanimate creation are found in him. He suffers from 
heat and cold ; he hungers and thirsts, feels grief and pain. 
One dies on account of sin, another despair, another grief, 
another too much joy, another hunger, another fleeing from 
danger, another seeking dignities, another in battle, another 
in sleep, another from cold, another from heat, etc., etc. 

Every man is vanity. The king, surrounded by his sub- 
jects, the rich reveling in his wealth, the poor begging for 
bread, the wise man and the ignorant, the strong and the 
weak. St. Jerome says : " If every man standing and living 
is vanity, what about the man falling and dying and dead ? " 



FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

THE PRECIOUS DEATH OF THE JUST. 



I. The just freely die. II. They do not dread judgment. III. They 
joyfully enter heaven. 

"And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (Luke 3:6). 

That which Isaias foretold in to-day's Gospel has already- 
taken place : " All flesh shall see the salvation of God " ; 
but it will happen again. It happened in the first coming 
of Christ, when all who wished saw Christ with their cor- 
poral eyes. It will happen again in his second coming, with 
this distinction, however : The just shall see him with the 
greatest rejoicing ; the wicked with the deepest sorrow. St. 
Gregory says : " When the heavens are opened, Christ shall 
appear on his throne of majesty surrounded by ministering 
angels with his apostles ; all the elect and reprobate alike 
shall see him — the just rejoicing in the gift of heavenly re- 
wards without end ; the unjust groaning in punishment for- 
ever. The same saint says that "the second coming of 
Christ is represented by that angel who, as a witness of the 
resurrection of Christ, terrified by the lightning of his coun- 
tenance the guards of the tomb, and gladdened by his snow- 
white garments the holy women, according to Matt. 28 : 3, 
"And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment 
as snow." In lightning there is the terror of fear ; in snow 
the allurement of beauty ; as in the general resurrection 
Christ will come with the same countenance. " A column 
of fire by night preceded the people in the desert, and. a 
column of cloud by day." In fire there is terror, in cloud a 
gentle blandishment of vision ; day is the life of the just ; 

20 



THfi PREClOtTS DEATH OF THE JUST. 21 

night the life of the sinner. Paul says to converted sinners : 
" You were darkness before, now you are light in the Lord." 
During the day the column was shown by a cloud ; during 
the night by fire ; because the mighty God will appear kind 
to the just and terrible to the wicked ; kind to those dying 
well; terrible to those dying without repentance." Thus 
St. Gregory. 

There are three gates through which the just enter when 
they leave this world : the gate of death, the gate of judg- 
ment, and the gate of heaven. Through the first they enter 
freely, the second confidently, the third joyfully. In the 
first gate, the love of the world could deter one, the desire of 
living, worldly cares, the snares of the devil ; in the second, 
the fear of judgment ; in the third, the fear of hell ; but 
none of these disturb the just. 

First — Through the first gate they freely enter, because 
there is nothing in this world they loved so much that they were 
not always ready to lose. Whatever they had in the world 
no more clung to them than a garment which is easily cast 
off without any regret. It is one thing to cast off the flesh 
of the body, another to cast off a garment ; this is done 
without grief, the former not without great torture. Those 
tied to the world, when they die, cast it off as though it 
were their very skin. How great will be their grief ! 

" Oh death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee, to a 
man that hath peace in his possessions " (Eccle. 41 : 1). On 
the other hand, those who love nothing in this world will 
find no more trouble in laying aside worldly goods than they 
would an old garment. 

When Cardinal Pole heard that Henry the Eighth had set 
fifty thousand pieces of gold as a price on his head, he won- 
dered at the insanity of the king, since he himself was tired 
of this life, and would as willingly lay it down as he would 
an old garment. St. Ambrose, speaking of the words, 
" Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord," says : " What 
dead one can die ? No one, unless he has received a soul 
beforehand. Those truly are blessed and those dead die in 
the Lord, who die to the world first, and then to the flesh." 

Secondly — Because they have fulfilled the days which they 
found full of miseries in this world. Whichever way they 
turned, they found calamities on all sides ; offenses against 
God, oppressions of the poor, daily funerals ; groans of the 
poor, quarrels of the rich ; enmities and strife, 



22 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

St. John (1 Epist. 5 : 19) says : (l They see the world seated 
in wickedness ; " that is, filled with every crime, where 
either the wicked only are, or the good are harassed by evils. 

Abraham is said to have died full of days, having had 
enough of living, and desiring to be dissolved. Jacob said : 
" The days of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty 
years, few and evil " (Gen. 47 : 9) ; that is, full of bitterness, 
trials and temptations. On the other hand, the wicked 
never die full of days ; and not in their time, as the Wise 
man says, for there never is a suitable time for them to die. 

St. Augustine says : " There are men who die with pa- 
tience ; but they are perfect, since they live in patience. 
He who desires that life, when the day of death shall come, 
patiently tolerates death ; but he who desires to be dis- 
solved and be with Christ does not die patiently, but lives 
patiently, and dies with the greatest delight." 

Thirdly — Because they pass from labor to repose, from 
war to peace. Not without reason is death often called 
sleep by the apostles, and by Christ himself when he said 
that Lazarus and the girl were only sleeping. Also by St. 
Luke when he wrote that St. Stephen had gone to sleep, and 
also commonly called by the Christians, who name their burial 
places cemeteries, that is, dormitories. As one after a day's 
labor gently rests in sleep, so the saints, after the trying 
labors of life, in death rest as in sleep. " Blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the 
Spirit, that they may rest from their labors" (Apoch. 
14:13). 

" Sleep is sweet to a laboring man whether he eat little or 
much ; but the fulness of the rich will not suffer him to 
sleep " (Ecclesiastes 5 : 11). 

In like manner the sleep of death is sweet to the just man 
working well, fatigued by labors, be he rich or poor. To 
those who do not labor it is difficult and restless. Nor is 
peace less welcome to the just after so many wars of tempta- 
tions, who are never out of battle ; for they have either ex- 
ternal enemies or, where they are wanting, internal ones. 
" Let peace come, let him rest in his bed that hath walked 
in his uprighteousness " (Isaias 57 : 2). 

This we ask when we pray for the dead : ' ' May they rest 
in peace." The just eagerly look forward to this peace, 
since it puts an end to all their struggles. 

Fourthly — Because liberated from prison they fly like 



THE PRECIOUS DEATH OF THE JUST. 23 

little birds to liberty, for the body and the world is a 
prison to them. 

There were two captives in the prison of Pharao, a baker 
and a cnp- bearer, and they were both led forth to torments 
and death. As different was the leaving of each one, so the 
will of each was different. The baker went forth unwil- 
lingly, for he dreamed that he would become the food of 
crows ; the cup-bearer went forth rejoicing, for he dreamed 
that he would be restored to his former dignity. So the just 
willingly " shuffle off this mortal coil," but the wicked with 
horror and trembling, and only by force. The reason is be- 
cause the just dream that they will enter into eternal joys, 
the wicked that they will descend into hell and become sport 
for the demons : so that sinners, like pigs, must be forced to 
die. On the contrary, the just are said to prepare for death 
like Jacob. " He drew up his feet upon the bed and died" 
(Gen. 49 : 32). 

God said to Moses, the figure of Christ on Calvary : " Go 
up into this mountain, and die thou in the mountain " 
(Deut. 32 : 49). He did not say thou shalt die, but die. In 
like manner St. John entered his tomb ; St. Peter asked to 
be released from prison, St. Paul to be dissolved, and St. 
Francis, in the words of the Psalmist, "Deliver me from 
this prison to confess thy name ; the just wait for me until 
thou hast rewarded me." 

Fifthly — Because they die in peace and great tranquillity 
of mind. They do not fear the snares of the demons, be- 
cause they have nothing that can be taken from them. St. 
Hilarion, falling among robbers, had nothing to fear, be- 
cause he did not possess anything. So that the just man at 
the hour of death does not fear the devils, because he is free 
from sin and all earthly affections. Finally, temporal cares 
and disturbances of the mind do not oppress them as they do 
sinners ; so that, like Moses and Aaron, they die on the 
mountain, that is, in a quiet and peaceful mind ; the wicked, 
on the contrary, die in the valley of tears, of troubles and 
temptations. Hence many holy men die while singing. 
Simeon the just man, having seen the Lord, wishing to die, 
nay, as though already dying, sang : " Now dismiss thy 
servant, Lord, according to thy word in peace." 

St. Bernard's brother Gerard, when dying, sang the words : 
" Praise the Lord of the heavens, praise him in the highest," 
according to St. Bernard himself, in his funeral oration. 



24 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT. 

Blessed Peter Celestine, having resigned the Pontificate, while" 
dying sang the Psalm : " Let every spirit praise the Lord." 

Sixthly — Because they suffer the pains of death with resig- 
nation. They are replenished with divine consolations by 
which God brings aid to them on their bed of suffering. 
" Thou has turned all his couch into his sickness " (Ps. 40 : 4). 
He turns the couch by bringing consolation to the sick. 

By virtue of the suffrages of the Church and of the sacra- 
ments, and the more fertile the soil on which they fall, the 
greater will be the fruit reaped. Possibly David foresaw this 
when he said : " By the fruit of their corn, their wine and oil, 
they are multiplied " (Ps. 4:8); in other words, by the fruit 
of the Holy Eucharist and Extreme Unction, they are strength- 
ened or grow so that they long for the embrace of death. 

II. First — They enter the second gate with confidence, 
because they sleep in the Lord, that is, in grace, and, as it 
were, in the bosom of God, their friend. " Blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord." 

The angel, having frightened the guards at the tomb of 
Christ, spoke to the women saying: "Fear ye not!" as 
though he would say : " Let them fear who do not like the 
advent of heavenly messengers ; let them fear who, weighed 
down with carnal desires, despair of ever entering the 
society of the blessed ; but you, why do you fear since you 
behold your heavenly companions ? " So the just will have 
nothing to fear when they approach Christ their judge. If 
those coming home at night fear not when they can say to the 
guards : " Friends, we are your friends," so those coming to 
the gates of heaven, if they can say to the blessed : " We 
are your friends," will have nothing to fear. 

Secondly — Because they know that they shall not appear 
in the presence of God empty-handed, but full of good 
works. They die full of days, like Abraham, because, says 
St. Ambrose: "The life of the just has fulness, but the days 
of the wicked are empty." As Jacob sent gifts of sheep and 
cows to his brother Esau coming on the way, to appease him, 
so will the just send good works to meet Christ, the first- 
born, coming to judge us. Good works precede and follow 
the just to judgment ; precede with merit, follow with re- 
ward. Hence St. John : " Blessed are the dead who die in 
the Lord, for their works follow them" — like servants 
attending their master. Esau, seeing his brother's house- 
hold, his power and munificence, runs to embrace him ; so 



THE PRECIOUS DEATH OF THE JUST. 25 

Christ will do with his servants — nay, his brothers. There 
the angels with all splendor shall exhibit the works of the 
just to Christ. 

III. Joyfully they enter through the third gate. They 
shall pass from a severe winter to a most delightful spring, 
for the Lord compares that time of transition to spring : 
" Now learn a parable from the fig-tree ; when its branch 
is now tender and the leaves come forth, you know that 
summer is nigh. So also you, when you shall see all these 
things, know that it is near, even at the doors " (Matt. 24). 

They cross the Jordan into Palestine ; that is, the river of 
judgment, into the land of the living. St. Bernard calls the 
death of the just the " Pasch, or Passover, because they die 
to the world that they may live to God." 

Because they pass from labor to reward ; from the battle 
to victory and triumph; from sowing to harvest. "The 
life of man upon earth is a warfare, and his days are like the 
days of a hireling. As a servant longeth for the shade, and 
as the hireling looketh for the end of his work, so I also 
have had empty mouths, and have numbered to myself 
wearisome nights" (Job 7 :l-3). 

St. Jerome says : " What a glorious day, when the Mother 
of the Lord, accompanied by a chorus of virgins, shall meet 
you, when after the Red Sea, and the horse and the rider 
have been submerged, she shall go before you with timbrel 
and song : " Let us sing to the Lord, for he is glori- 
ously honored, he has cast the horse and the rider into 
the sea ! " Then joyful Theckla shall fly to your em- 
brace. Then the bridegroom himself shall meet you, say- 
ing : "Arise, come, my precious one, my dove, because the 
winter is passed, and storms have disappeared." Then the 
angels shall say : " Who is he that, looking like the dawn, 
beautiful as the moon, elevated as the sun ? " Then the 
daughters and the qneens shall praise you. Then the little 
ones of whom the Saviour spoke by Isaias : " Behold, I and my 
little ones, whom the Lord gave me, bearing palms of vic- 
tory, shall sing: 'Hosanna in the highest: blessed is he 
who cometh in the name of the Lord/" As often as vain 
ambition of the world shall delight you, as often as you see 
anything glorious in this world, go in spirit to paradise, be- 
gin to be what you will be, and you will hear from your 
spouse. " Place me as a bower in your heart, as a seal on 
your arm " (Canticle of Canticles). 



SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRIST- 
MAS OR THE NEW YEAR'S DAY. 

THE DIGNITY AND THE VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME 
OF JESUS — THE AVOIDING THE ABUSE OF IT. 



I. A name full of mysteries. II. A precious name. III. A saving 
name. IV. A holy name. V. A terrible name. 

11 His name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel, before he was con- 
ceived in the womb " (Luke 2 : 21). 

If any one receives a valuable gift from a dignitary — for 
instance a precious ring — he guards it very carefully, places 
it in an ornate and strong box, wears it and exhibits it with 
great pride. Thus Moses did when he received the heavenly 
manna from the hands of angels. He placed a portion of it 
in the tabernacle as a perpetual memorial and for the con- 
stant adoration of his people (Exod. 16). Likewise, when he 
received the tables of the law from God on Mount Sinai, he 
framed an ark of setim-wood overlaid with purest gold 
within and without, and there placed them to be preserved 
with becoming honor (Exod. 25). We have received from 
God a most valuable gift — a gift above all gifts, the soul- 
saving name Jesus, which, although belonging to our Divine 
Eedeemer alone, is communicated to us also. Where is the 
comparison between the manna, the tables of the law and the 
name Jesus ? " Your fathers ate manna and are dead ; this 
is the bread of life coming down from heaven ; if any man 
eat of this he shall not die" (John 6). The tables of 
Moses contained the law of God — the name Jesus contains 
the Lawgiver Himself. The manna and tables were deliv- 
ered by the hands of angels — the name Jesus was selected by 
God and announced to us by an angel (Luke 11). We 
should, therefore, most carefully guard this noblest of names, 

26 



VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 27 

and pronounce it with the greatest reverence. To this the 
Evangelist adverts in the words of the text. He wishes to 
say that the mouth pronouncing the name Jesus should be 
angelical — as it passed first from the mind of God into the 
mind of the angel, thence into the ears of the most holy 
Virgin Mary. Therefore the breast in which that name is 
preserved ought to be most pure and most richly adorned ; 
the mouth which speaks it ought to be an ark of setim- 
wood overlaid with the purest gold within and without. 

I. It is a name in Greek and Hebrew full of mysteries and 
of wisdom. It establishes us in faith and in every action in 
faith because it teaches us the mysteries of the Most Holy 
Trinity, and of the Incarnation. Of the Trinity, as the four- 
lettered Jehova is the name of God signifying three persons 
and one Godhead. The first letter is Iod — beginning, and 
signifies Father ; the second is He — life, and signifies Son, 
because " in him there was life " says St. John ; the third 
Vau — link, and signifies Holy Spirit, who is the link binding 
Father and Son ; the fourth He again, and signifies the unity 
of essence ; so in the name Jesus the first is Iod, signifying 
Father ; the second Schin, representing the Word ; the third 
Vau, representing the Holy Ghost ; the fourth Ain — fountain, 
representing the Deity, which is the perennial fountain of 
all those relations and ideas, nay more, of all things. 

It teaches the mystery of the Incarnation, because it sig- 
nifies Saviour and hence God Incarnate, for neither God alone 
nor man alone could properly be the Saviour. Not God alone, 
for then there would be no one to whom he could offer 
atonement ; not man alone, for he could not have the means 
for atonement. Saviour, not as regards one kind only or 
imperfect redemption, justification and glorification, but all 
kinds and perfect in every way. 

The name Jesus, therefore, signifies the most acceptable 
combination of the Divine nature with the human which the 
whole world needed so much and which the Prophets so 
earnestly longed for, as the Spouse in the Canticles says : 
"Who shall give thee to me for my brother ? " (8 : 1). The 
other names of God signify Creator — Being of beings — Judge, 
etc. ; but the name Jesus — God our Brother, Eedeemer, 
Justifier, Glorifier. It teaches us to direct all our actions, 
with Christ as our Leader, to our eternal salvation. (i All, 
whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ" (Coloss. 3:17). Poets tell that 



28 SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS. 

Ariadne gave Theseus a thread for a guide lest in wandering 
in the labyrinth he should be lost. The world indeed is a 
real labyrinth beset with many and varied dangers, so that 
if we do not wish to err, if we do not wish to fall from justice 
and glory, let us carefully study what helps us to our salva- 
tion, let us follow God. When we pray, let us pray in the 
name of Jesus. When we desire anything, let us ask for it 
if it conduces to our salvation. Therefore, since this name 
is so full of mysteries and saving doctrines it is to be 
devoutly kissed. If St. Thomas Aquinas did not hesitate 
to say that he would not exchange St. Chrysostom's book 
on Matthew for the city of Paris, how much more should 
we venerate the name Jesus which St. Paul confessed 
(1 Corinthians, 2 : 2,) was all that he knew. 

II. It is a precious name. s( For you are bought with a 
great price. Glorify and bear God in your body " (1 Cor. 
6 :20). So is the name Jesus bought by Christ at a great 
price ; — glorify therefore, and bear it with the greatest love 
and veneration. For as Jacob was no sooner called Israel, 
that is, seeing God, when he wrestled with the angel and 
was wounded by him ; — so Christ was no sooner called Jesus, 
that is, Saviour, than he was wounded by circumcision and 
shed his most precious blood for us. Although he lost 
then but a small quantity, yet it was sufficient for our re- 
demption ; besides it was a pledge of a more copious redemp- 
tion to be shown by his atonement and death, hence buy- 
ing the name at the highest possible price. If Alexander, 
wounded at the siege of Sicyon, on seeing the blood oozing 
from his body, exclaimed : "How dearly have you bought a 
renowned name ! " with how much more justice could Christ 
nailed to the cross say the same thing ? Who does not know 
how much more honorable are those names bought by virtue 
than those acquired by heredity — as the name Germanicus, 
which Justinian acquired by conquering Germany ; Africanus, 
which Scipio acquired by conquering Africa. So also the 
name Jesus, which Christ acquired through his passion and 
our liberation, for he no sooner received it than he began to 
suffer. Therefore, Christ is to be more glorified in the name 
Jesus than if he were simply called the Son of God — or the 
God of armies — the mighty Jehovah, etc., for these he 
has received by heredity — the former through the shedding 
of his most precious blood for us. When prostrate Saul 
asked the Lord who he was, he did not reply : " I am who J 



VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 29 

am — or I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — but I 
am Jesus whom thou persecutest." If there is greater glory- 
in the name Jesus, it surely follows that it is a greater crime 
to abuse that name. If a precious balsam, ointment or oil, 
or such as is distilled from gems and pearls, be of such great 
value as to be kept in gold and silver vases and given drop 
by drop to the sick, how much more valuable the name 
Jesus ! ' ' Thy name is as oil poured out " (Cant. 1). Oil 
indeed drawn from the crucible of the cross ; dripping from 
the wounds and members of Christ; poured out, because 
offered and given copiously to the whole world to drink. 

But where Christ should receive more honor, there he 
receives less — the more copiously that precious oil is poured 
out the more it is despised and uttered by the mouths of men 
in ribald jokes and jests, detractions and blasphemies, as if 
it cost Christ nothing. " I am poured out as water " (Ps. 
21:15). 

III. It is a salutary name. " For there is no other name 
under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved" 
(St. Peter, Acts 4 : 12). " Christ Jesus came into this world 
to save sinners" (Tim. 1 :15). Although, before the time 
of Christ, many were called by that name, not, however, as 
Christ, because neither by an angel nor by reason that they 
were to save a people from their sins, as the angel had told 
of Christ ; but on account of some temporal power which 
placed them over the people, as Joshua, because he was the 
future ruler of Israel and was to lead the people into the 
land of promise ; — Joseph, because he had saved a multitude 
of men from hunger and famine ; but Christ came to lead 
us to heaven and free us from the pains of hell. When 
Joseph appeared in royal state, announced by a herald, be- 
cause he had freed Egypt from the danger of famine, in such 
great reverence was he held that, wherever he went, all the 
people bent the knee before him (Gen. 41). "What should 
we do when it is proclaimed to us that our true and only 
Saviour is being borne along in that royal carriage of the 
name Jesus ? " In the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth and under the 
earth" (Philip. 2 : 10). If the angelic choirs and the cohorts 
of demons, who were not redeemed by Christ as we were, 
bend the knee at the sound of that name, and adore it, what 
must be said of men who, when hearing it, not only do not 
adore it, but bring ridicule on it ? Certainly they must 



30 SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS. 

count their salvation of little worth while they so hypocrit- 
ically carry their Saviour. As a person with a new garment, 
careless of its value, throws it here and there, unmindful of 
the cleanness or filth of the place, so does he act who carries 
the Salutary name with him. The name Jesus is the gar- 
ment of our salvation, in which only we can be pleasing to 
God, according to St. Paul : " For as many of you as have 
been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ " (Gal. 3 : 27). 
That garment is so precious as to have cost the blood of 
Christ. Whoever, therefore, despises it cannot fully realize 
its value. " You are bought with a great price, glorify and 
carry God in your body." 

IV. It is a holy name. " Holy and terrible is his name" 
(Ps. 110). He was so announced by the angel to Mary 
(Luke 1). "And, therefore, also, the Holy, which shall 
be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God." For this rea- 
son the blind man, having once called Jesus Son of David, 
did not repeat that sacred name, but was content with say- 
ing : " Son of David, have mercy on me." 

As the image of a king is to be honored because it repre- 
sents a king, so also is the name of God to be honored be- 
cause it represents God. It was the custom among some 
races to place the letters from their king upon their head 
and fall on their knees through respect. The Angles, with 
bowed heads and modest demeanor, paid homage to the 
empty thrones of their kings. St. Chrysostom says : 
" Among the Jews the name of God was so sacred that, as it 
was written on pieces of metal, no one was allowed to carry 
them around unless the high priest ; now, indeed, we all 
carry that name as if it were something common. " No one 
but the high priest, and that only once a year, dared pro- 
nounce that name ; and when the people heard him, they 
prostrated themselves on the ground, and whenever they met 
with it in the sacred writings, on account of their venera- 
tion, they never pronounced it, but said only Adonai. But 
the name Jesus represents to us not only the divinity, but 
also the humanity of God, and thence the benefit of the In- 
carnation, and in very truth more than the four-lettered 
Hebrew Jehovah. The Eomans considered it a crime to take 
the names of their tutelary gods, as Plutarch writes. It 
would be a crime against injured majesty for one to treat with- 
out respect the image of his king ; but a greater crime is it 
to profane with our lips the most sacred name of God — Jesus. 



VENERATION OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 31 

St. Chrysostom says : " Do you know what God is and 
how he should be called ? Now how do we use the name 
which is to be honored above all names, which is the sweet- 
est to all on earth, which terrifies the listening demons ? " 

What shall we say of those people who stand with awe in the 
presence of an earthly ruler and pronounce his name with 
reverence, and when they hear the name Jesus spoken treat 
it with contumely, as something filthy and vile ? 

V. It is a terrible name. Terrible to the demons, who on 
hearing it flee and tremble. Terrible to all its enemies, as 
Saul discovered when on his way to Damascus to bind all 
who invoked that name (Acts 9). He fully understood for 
the first time what kind of name it was when, prone on the 
earth, he heard : " I am Jesus whom you persecute." Ter- 
rible, finally, to all who irreverently use it and take it in 
vain, as we read in Deuteronomy 5 : " Thou shalt not take 
the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for he shall not be 
unpunished that taketh his name upon a vain thing. - " 
What an appendage of threatening did God place as he 
foresaw how prone men would be to this vice, how very com- 
mon would be the irreverence for this divine name ; there- 
fore, to deter them, he added threats to his commands. 
Wisely does Ecclesiasticus admonish us : " Make a balance 
for thy tongue ; " to weigh, as it were, the words before they 
leave the mouth, so that we may escape punishment, after the 
manner of bakers who are bound by law to weigh their 
loaves of bread before they place them in the oven, that they 
may be neither heavier nor lighter than is allowed. So 
ought we weigh our words before they are placed on the 
tongue and publicly uttered. Consider well how all your 
idle, jocose and irreverent words are weighed in God's bal- 
ance and what punishment they deserve. 

St. Chrysostom tells that a certain preacher, from force of 
habit, was continually moving his right shoulder, and to cor- 
rect himself he placed a sharp sword on it, so that the fear 
of being wounded might prevent him from moving that 
member. Let us do likewise by placing the sword of God's 
punishment on the tongue, and thus break ourselves of that 
filthy and damnable habit of taking the holy name of Jesus 
in vain. It will not avail you to say that you do this by 
force of habit, and not with any bad intention, no more than 
it would excuse the thief, when caught, to say he stole from 
force of habit. The greater will be his crime the more he 



32 SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS. 

has been accustomed to steal. " Be not deceived, God is not 
mocked. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall 
he reap" (Gal. 6 : 7,8). If, therefore, by yonr tongue you 
shall sow scurrilities, blasphemy, contempt of God and 
derision of divine things, you shall reap the derision of a 
deriding God. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTF EPIPHANY. 

HOW MUST CHRIST OR HIS LOST GRACE BE SOUGHT ? 



I. The loss of Christ must be acknowledged. II. We must retrace 
our steps by the examination of conscience. III. We must 
grieve for the lost one by contrition. IV. We must return to 
Jerusalem by a firm purpose of amendment. V. Christ must 
be sought among the doctors by confession. VI. Three days 
of satisfaction must be spent. VII. When found, he must be 
carefully guarded. 

" Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing " (Luke 2 : 48). 

There were two trees in Paradise, by which the life of 
man was to be either lost or preserved — the tree of death and 
the tree of life : no one was to die unless he had tasted of 
the tree of death ; no one was to be saved unless he had 
tasted of the tree of life. For a like reason there are in the 
Church two trees as it were, by which the grace of Christ is 
either lost or found — sin and penance ; Christ cannot be lost 
except through sin, nor once lost can he be found unless 
through penance. 

I. The loss of Christ or his grace must be acknowledged ; 
sins must be acknowledged. The parents of Christ, although 
at first they did not notice his absence when they left Jeru- 
salem, soon, however, perceived it during the homeward 
journey. For the same reason when we commit sin we do 
not ordinarily advert to the loss of Christ. Let us at least 
advert to it afterwards while we are in a position to merit, 
for when we come to judgment it will be of no avail to ac- 
knowledge sin. Unless we acknowledge it we will not seek 
Christ, for no one seeks that which he knows not he has 

33 



34 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

lost. Wisely Seneca remarks : " The knowledge of sin is 
the beginning of salvation, for he who does not know that 
he sins is unwilling to be corrected. You should discover 
before you amend." St. Bernard, in his epistle to Innocent, 
says : " He does not seek to be released who is ignorant of 
his captivity." If we do not seek to be released, we do not 
grieve that we are captives. 

Secondly, if we do not acknowledge the loss of Christ we 
will not glorify God nor will we give thanks for graces re- 
ceived. For this reason Christ asked the blind man what 
was it he wished, so that before he could be cured he should 
acknowledge his blindness and the benefit of the cure. 
Many are spiritually blind and foolish because they do not 
see their defects. Seneca writes about his foolish wife Har- 
paste : " She does not know that she is blind, and she asks 
her preceptor to take her out for a walk, for, says she, ' it is 
dark/" This same happens to us. No one believes himself 
avaricious — no one covetous. The blind seek a leader — we 
wander about without one, saying: "I am not ambitious, 
but nobody else can live in Rome ; it is not my fault that I 
am passionate, for I have not yet reached a certain period of 
life ; youth does these things." How we deceive ourselves ! 
It is to be regretted that many live not only for a day but for 
a whole lifetime without Christ ; they never advert to it, 
never say to themselves : " Is God with us or not ? " Where- 
fore St. Gregory, commenting on Job 4, says that the wicked 
are consumed by their sins as a garment is consumed by a 
moth — without feeling. " They shall be consumed as by a 
moth." " A moth," he says, "does damage, but makes no 
noise ; so the minds of the wicked, because they neglect to 
consider their iniquities, unknowingly lose their integrity." 
Therefore, do not expect help from Christ, if you do not 
know you are sick — do not think that you have found Christ, 
if you do not know that you have lost him. 

II. We must return by the way we traveled without 
Christ, that is, our sinful life must be scrutinized by the ex- 
amination of conscience. The parents of Christ, knowing 
him to be missing, came a day's journey and sought him 
among their relations and friends. In the same manner 
must you traverse the roads of your life on which you have 
walked, and examine the familiar places in which you have 
lived, the persons with whom you were accustomed to asso- 
ciate, — parents, relatives, friends and neighbors. Consider 



HOW MUST CHRIST OR HIS LOST GRACE BE SOUGHT? 35 

what yon said, what yon did, what you thought ; you must 
travel everywhere, saying with the Spouse in the Canticles : 
" I will rise and will go about the city, in the streets and the 
broad highways I will seek him whom my soul loveth." But 
what need, you will say, of such a rigid examination ? Is it 
not enough, if I am ready to confess those sins which occur 
to my mind ? By no means — for we must use all our en- 
deavors to fathom the most secret sins in our heart, in order 
to detest them and avoid them for the future ; for how can 
we entirely destroy that which we know not to be in us ? 
When you have lost anything in the dark, you procure a light 
and search everywhere ; you sweep the house as did the 
woman in the gospel, and you are not happy till you have 
found that which you had lost. If you knew there were 
thieves in your house you would not be satisfied with pro- 
claiming the fact and berating them for their crime, but you 
would use your utmost endeavor either to banish them or to 
have them captured. Why do you not act in like manner 
with your soul ? How can your confessor expel your enemies 
who are destroying your soul, if you hide them from him ? 
If we wish to become worthy of the grace, friendship and 
espousals of God in very truth, we must wash away all the 
stains on our souls and become most pure and holy like 
Christ, the Spouse of our souls, and thus more pleasing to 
him. If maidens use every art to become more pleasing in 
the eyes of their affianced, what should we not do to make 
our souls acceptable to Christ, our heavenly Spouse ? If 
they consume a whole day in adorning themselves, should 
we not likewise spend an entire day in examining our con- 
sciences ? " His parents came a day's journey and they 
sought him sorrowing." 

III. We must grieve for the loss of Christ by contrition. 
But why is contrition or sorrow and detestation of sin re- 
quired ? Is not charity, faith or mercy sufficient ? These 
are not sufficient ; for charity demands that we grieve 
for our offense and make reparation to our friend ; faith 
demands that we seek a remedy through the virtue of Christ, 
that is, through the sacraments ; mercy demands that each 
one alleviate his suffering through penance. Therefore, 
contrition is required, first, that by it and detesting our 
sins we may repair the injury done to God. Tyrants 
urged the Christians to detest Christ and his cross, and 
show themselves his enemies and their idols' friends. Thus 



36 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

the king orders his subjects to break the treaty they had 
made with the enemy. Finally, with Job and Jeremiah, 
we curse the day we were born, that is, when we began to 
sin. Secondly, that by this grief we may revenge the sins 
in ourselves and strengthen our hatred toward them. For 
our heart is the source of sin and we afflict it as the culprit 
through sadness. For this reason the victorious commander 
orders all the fortresses in the captured towns to be destroyed. 
Thy heart, Christian, was the redoubtable fortress from 
which you waged war against Almighty God ; therefore it 
must be destroyed if you wish to recover lost grace. 

IV. We must return to Jerusalem by a firm purpose of 
amendment. In this way, with the parents of Christ, we 
ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, whence we descended, 
when we promise to return to the path of God's command- 
ments, which we had before deserted ; so that with the 
Prodigal Son we can say : "I will arise and go to my 
father." Through this firm purpose we retrace our steps, 
which were leading us to hell, and Ave continue on our jour- 
ney to heaven. But what is the need of this firm purpose of 
amendment ? First, that we may detest our sins and excite 
God's mercy, by which he will receive us into his grace ; that, 
while we cannot offer him any past submission, at least we 
can offer future submission, as the debtor in the gospel, who 
was unable to pay the ten thousand talents because he had 
not them, promised to pay if his lord had patience. (t Have 
patience with me and I will pay thee all " (Matt. 18). Unruly 
children about to be punished promise their parents that 
they will behave in the future and their promise is accepted. 

Secondly, to prove to God that in the future we will not 
be enemies, but dutiful and obedient children. So the vic- 
tors despoil the vanquished of their arms, if they receive 
them as hostages, and these swear never again to join their 
enemies. We read that Mary of Egypt, while yet a great 
sinner, by divine power was barred from entering the Temple 
of Jerusalem on the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, 
until she promised the Blessed Virgin that she would aban- 
don her licentious life. 

V. We must seek Christ in the temple among the doctors. 
Thus did his parents whom we will imitate if we hasten to 
church and tell our confessors, the doctors of the church, by 
what manner of sinning we have lost Christ. The Spouse 
seeking her beloved asks the guards of the city: " Have you 



HOW MUST CHRIST OR HIS LOST GRACE BE SOUGHT ? 37 

seen him whom my soul loveth ? When I had a little passed 
by them I found him whom my soul loveth. " Likely the 
Blessed Virgin on reaching the gates of Jerusalem asked the 
guards if they had seen her Son passing through. On 
receiving a negative answer she entered the city and sought 
him in the temple in the midst of the doctors, the true 
guardians of the soul, not of the body, and they showed 
her Jesus. For this reason pastors and confessors are 
called guards of the soul. If, therefore, you wish to find 
Christ, you must seek him through his confessors. And as 
it is the duty of guards of the city to examine all as to 
whence they come and whither they go, so is it the office of 
confessors to examine those who wish to find Christ. But 
you may say, whjr should they know the secrets of my mind ? 
The answer is — Christ the Euler of the Church so ordered 
when he made them guardians of men and gave them the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven and the power of opening and 
closing, of binding and loosing. 

He did this, that by self -accusation we might merit his 
grace and indulgence. St. Augustine says : i( A humble 
confession of bad deeds is better than a proud glorying in 
good ones." By this means we are deterred from sinning. 
As the thorny hedge surrounding a garden prevents one from 
entering, so Christ wished to separate our life from sin by 
the thorny hedge of Confession. e ' I will hedge up thy way 
with thorns " (Osee. 2.) It is of no use to tell your confes- 
sor that you are a sinner, or to tell him only a few sins — you 
must confess all in specie and with their circumstances ; that 
is the bridle, these the thorns. 

VI. Three days must be given to seeking, for after three 
days Christ was found. First day of Contrition ; second of 
Confession ; third of Satisfaction. As Christ was found be- 
fore the close of the third day according to the more prob- 
able opinion of Euthymius and Cajetan, so by Penance 
Christ is found, although the third partis not yet completed 
but begun only by the promise of satisfaction. Christ wished 
that man should add this third day to the labor of penance ; 
first, that he might fully taste of the bitterness of sin, by 
which we lose our highest good. " See that it is an evil and 
a bitter thing for thee to have left thy God" (Jerem. 2). If 
every offense with its punishment were to be remitted at the 
first groan, we would not know how much gall and poison 
were hidden under the honeyed surface of sin. Therefore 



38 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

we are subjected to various miseries and afflictions so that w© 
may know, from the little remains of pardoned sin, what a 
severe punishment awaits those who have not been forgiven. 
Secondly, that by this means we may radically destroy sin, 
using the necessary antidotes : — fasting against gluttony, 
alms-giving against avarice, etc. Confession alone does not 
destroy these roots nor bad habits. 

VII. After Christ has been found he must be carefully 
guarded lest he be lost again. Thus when the Blessed Virgin 
found her Son she brought him home and never lost him 
after. In like manner did the Spouse in the Canticles : " I 
have found him whom my soul loveth, I held him and will not 
let him go till I bring him into my mother's house and into 
the chamber of her who bore me." We must establish Christ 
in our souls — fleeing the occasions of sin, strengthening the 
mind with serious resolutions and pious thoughts and medi- 
tations on the love of God and our last end. Let us carefully 
examine our consciences daily, and if it be necessary to min- 
gle with the world, let us never go without Christ. What 
profit will it be, after having with so much labor sought and 
found Christ, to lose him ? 

What profit, if you be unable to find him, if he be finally 
lost ? The blessed cannot lose Christ ; the damned cannot 
find him ; but we are able to lose, and when lost to find, him. 
What profit in this life if, preoccupied with the thought of 
death, we cannot find time for penance ? What profit if, 
having fallen into the abyss of sin, we neglect to seek him, 
nay more, if we despise him, as the wise man says: "The 
wicked man when he is come into the depth of sins con- 
temneth (Prov. 18). There is an infinite space between 
Christ and hell — thence no one can return to him, no one 
seek him, no one find him. Therefore, if at any time we 
have gone to the tree of death, and there have lost Christ, 
let us go now to the tree of life — to the tree of penance and 
there find him ; but in order to hold him we must taste of 
the fruit of the tree of life — penance. As the tree of life 
cannot always prolong life unless tasted often, so neither the 
sacrament of Penance only once received if you should fall 
again. Frequent confession, then, is the sure means of 
keeping Christ with us and of receiving the necessary graces 
for the salvation our souls. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

THE MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS OF MARRIED PEOPLE. 



I. Let the husband be the head of the wife, and the wife obey the 
husband. II. Let the husband honor the wife, and the wife the 
husband. III. Love between husband and wife. IV. Mutual 
help. V. Bear with each other's faults. 

" Woman, what is it to me and to thee ? (John 2:4). 

These words of the text our Divine Lord addressed to his 
mother, that they might serve as a wedding-gift to the 
newly-married couple. What better manner of speech can a 
husband use towards his wife than : ' ' Woman, what is it to 
me and to thee ?" in this sense : What must I do and what 
must you do ? If married people knew this and carefully pon- 
dered it, what a happy life they would lead ! In the kingdom of 
Mogor, on the wedding day, the prospective bride and groom 
repair to the cemetery and there seriously reflect how they 
will spend their new life. The cemetery indeed is the best 
school of discipline ; there is the potter's house (God's), 
where the Word of God is heard and where each one learns 
what he has to do (Jer. 18). But we shall conduct married 
people rather to the garden of paradise. 

I. St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11 : 3, says : " The man is the head of 
the woman," that is, he must rule and govern gently as the 
head rules its members. It directs them by its eyes, it moves 
and keeps them in place. Woman was made from a rib 
of man, not from the breast, lest she should precede him ; 
not from his back, lest as a servant she should follow him ; 
but from his side so that as one of his members she should 
obey him as the head. Hence, Adam calls her : " Bone of 
his bones." This power of head was given to man by God 
when he created him to his own image and likeness, that he 
should rule the earth and woman also. Therefore, in order 
to perform this office, he gave him greater knowledge, 

39 



40 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

strength and power than to woman, to teach her, to rule and 
keep her in place, and thus he commanded Adam alone not 
to eat of the forbidden fruit. Adam soon exercised this 
power in communicating the same command to the woman 
lest she also should transgress ; also by giving the name to 
woman as to all other living beings to show that it belonged 
to the ruler to know the names of all whom he had subject 
to him and to assign to each one his office. You see, there- 
fore, by many arguments that man from the beginning was 
made the ruler and governor of woman ; but, as was said, a 
gentle one, not a tyrannical one, not against the precepts of 
God and his Church. Nay more, this power of man over 
woman is so natural that the contrary is plainly monstrous ; 
if for instance the woman were to rule the man she would 
be like those monstrosities of men who have their head below 
their shoulders, in their breasts ; the woman was made from 
a rib of man, which should be below his head and shoulders, 
and not above them. From this it follows that it is a great dis- 
grace for a man to allow himself to be deprived of his author- 
ity by his wife, no less than for one to allow himself to be 
stripped of his sword and wounded by it. To man the sword 
was given, and not to woman. This is no reason, however., 
for man to reject the advice of his wife ; it is often very 
profitable to follow it. If Henry II., King of France, on the 
occasion of his sister Marguerite's wedding, had taken the 
Queen's advice to desist and be satisfied with his victories of 
the preceding day in the tournament, he would not have 
received a mortal wound, nor would he so truly have foretold 
his death when sending back word to her he said : " Just 
for this once and no more." Likewise the wife should be 
subject to the husband. "Thou shalt be under thy hus- 
band's power and he shall have dominion over thee " (Gen. 
3 :16). " In like manner also let wives be subject to their 
husbands " (1 Peter 3 : 1). " But I suffer not a woman to 
teach nor to use authority over the man, but to be in silence " 
(1 Tim. 2 : 12). "A woman if she have superiority is con- 
trary to her husband" (Ecclesiasticus 25:30). A woman 
shows this subjection to her husband by obeying him in all 
things not contrary to the law of God. 

II. The husband should honor his wife. " Giving honor 
to the female as the weaker vessel and as to co-heirs of the 
grace of life" (1 Peter 3 :7). Although the man may be 
more distinguished and renowned as regards talent, strength 



THE MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS OF MARRIED PEOPLE. £1 

and power than the woman, though more honored in his 
creation with many prerogatives, as to some, however, woman 
surpasses him. He was created outside paradise, she inside 
it ; she had God for a bridegroom, who iu a separate place from 
Adam, after he had taken the rib from him, " built the rib 
into a woman," that is, he constructed it with peculiar artifice 
and made it more beautiful and afterwards conducted her to 
Adam as his image, not as a creature of Adam, but as designed 
for him. By these ceremonies, he wished to show us that 
woman is not to be despised nor treated contemptuously by 
man. Finally, with great fitness, he created her from the 
side of Adam so that she should be his companion, as Adam 
himself declared : " The woman whom thou gavest me to be 
my companion, gave me of the tree and I did eat " (Gen. 
3 : 13). God did not wish to make her from the head of 
Adam, lest she should despise him, nor from his feet, lest she 
should be spurned by him ; but from his side, so as to be his 
companion. God replaced Adam's flesh after the bone was 
taken, so that man should clothe himself with fitting meek- 
ness and moderation towards the woman and not with hard- 
ness of heart. ' ' Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter 
towards them " (Coloss. 3 : 19). The best reason, however, is 
that of St. Peter about weaker vessels ; for although a glass 
vase is far less valuable than one of gold, nevertheless it must 
be more carefully handled and guarded than the latter, be- 
cause it is more fragile. No less do husbands err who on the 
slightest provocation, with harsh and bitter words, scold their 
wives, while they gain no glory by railing at the weaker ves- 
sel, but rather do an injury to God because the wife belongs 
more to God than to man, who has the use only, not the 
dominion. Likewise the wife should honor the husband as 
her head and endowed with greater prerogatives by Almighty 
God. For this reason she was made, not from the right side 
of Adam, but from the left, the less honored ; for the same 
reason Eve was conducted to Adam, not Adam to Eve. 
Hence it is a reasonable custom for woman to walk on the 
left ; also for noble women to call their husbands lords ; as 
Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. They should not 
complain to others about their husbands, nor expose their 
faults, nor exaggerate them. In this matter St. Monica, ac- 
cording to St. Augustine, was an excellent model. Much 
less should a woman dare to raise her hand against her hus- 
band ; this would be the same as for a pupil to strike his 



42 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

teacher, a soldier his captain. " A woman shall not be 
clothed with man's apparel, neither shall a man use woman's 
apparel, for he that doeth these things is abominable be- 
fore God " (Deut. 22 : 5). Is it not to put on man's ap- 
parel or to act the part of a man for a woman to strike him ? 
This is an abomination in the sight of God, and is as dis- 
honorable for the man as for the woman, no less than if a 
cat attacked a hunting dog. 

III. A husband should love his wife as part of himself, 
as his own flesh, even more than his own parents. "He 
that loveth his wife loveth himself ; for no man ever hated 
his own flesh ; but nourisheth and cherisheth it as also 
Christ doth the Church " (Ephes. 5 : 28, 29). As a reminder 
of this, Eve was made from the left side of Adam, on which 
side the heart is, so that man should bestow his love on his 
wife. This love should be genuine and sincere, not founded 
on the wife's beauty, riches, nobility, etc., for such love is 
built on sand and is soon swept away. It should be well- 
ordered — neither too much, nor too little. It will be too much 
when it is elevated above and against God, as in Adam, who, 
because of the woman, did eat ; it will be too little when it 
turns to hatred and is expended on others. It should be 
strong and brave so that man should be ever ready to expose 
himself to any danger for the protection of his wife no less 
than for himself, as Jacob did for his wives when he was going 
to meet Esau, whom he feared ; for he went a little ahead of 
them to defend them, as we read in Genesis 33. Likewise, 
after God, the wife should love only .her husband, and un- 
flinchingly stand beside him and study to preserve his safety, 
honor and his very life as the ribs guard and protect the 
heart. Let her be like Michol, the wife of David, who, know- 
ing that her husband was to be put to death by her father, 
persuaded him to flee, and let him down at the window, then 
placed a wooden image in the bed (1 Kings 19). 

Let her imitate those noble matrons who, while the Guelph 
Euler of Bavaria was besieged by Conrad III., besought the 
Emperor to allow them to leave the city unharmed, prom- 
ising that they would bear nothing away with them but what 
they could carry on their shoulders. Imagine his surprise 
when he saw each one of them, especially the Duchess, bearing 
her husband on her shoulders. He was so touched at the 
sight that all anger vanished, and he concluded a treaty of 
peace and friendship with his bitterest enemy. 



THE MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS OF MARRIED PEOPLE. 43 

IV. The husband should provide for his wife and offspring, 
by his labor and industry, as St. Paul says : " Every one 
cherishes and nourishes his own flesh" (Ephes. 5). As the 
head transmits food to all the members, so should the hus- 
band to his wife and children. Woman was made from one 
rib only ; rib signifies fortitude and labor, and as all the ribs 
of man surpass one rib, so should the labor of the husband 
exceed that of the wife. For this reason Adam was placed in 
the garden of paradise to guard and care for it — not so of the 
woman. Again, woman was made from the weaker side so 
that man should understand that it belongs to him to provide 
for her. 

What a great crime is it then for the husband to throw, not 
only the greater part of the burden, but even the whole, burden 
on the wife. How disgraceful it would be for a man on 
horseback to be led by a woman ! In the flight into Egypt, 
Joseph is not pictured as seated on the ass, while Mary walked 
alongside. But rather the contrary. Why should a man 
marry a woman, if he is unable to support her ? Is he not 
like the man who started to build a house and was unable 
to complete it ? " This man began to build and could not 
finish" (Luke 14). 

Likewise the wife should be a help to the husband in the 
support of the family. " Let us make him a help like unto 
himself" (Gen. 2). The same help that a staff gives to a 
tired man under a heavy burden, the same should a wife 
give her husband. Eve was made from Adam asleep, not 
awake, to show that man has need of rest from his toil ; and 
the wife in the meantime should watch over him ; and on 
her devolves the care of the family while he is sick or absent, 
or even while he is lazy and negligent. Hence woman took 
her name from man — Isch Ischa-man — masculine woman. It 
is a great error for those who say : It is enough for me to 
bear children and then rest ; let the men work. A household 
with such a spirit reigning will soon come to naught. Such 
women are like the asses mentioned in Job 1 : "And the 
oxen were ploughing and the asses feeding beside them, and 
the Sabeans rushed in and took all away." There is still 
greater misery in store when the wife becomes worldly and 
squanders the hard earnings of her husband. Of him it may 
be said with Aggaeus 1 : " He that hath earned wages, put 
them into a bag with holes." The spendthrift wife is such 
a bag whose only desire is the latest fashions, cost what they 



44 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

will ; who would starve rather than be without the newest 
bonnet. 

V. The husband should bear with the defects and infirm- 
ities of his wife. Let him remember that she was made from 
his bone, and for this bone he was given flesh, so that he 
might communicate his strength to her weakness and bear 
her infirmities. Let him remember that with reason Eve 
was conducted first to Adam as his betrothed before he 
married her, as the spouse appears before her beloved that he 
may deliberate whether he shall take her or not. Therefore, 
Adam was to blame when he tried to shift the responsibility 
of his sin by saying : " The woman whom you gave me for a 
companion, gave me of the tree and I did eat. " Did not the 
Lord lead her to him, did he not see her before he took her, 
and did he not then exclaim : " This now is bone of my 
bones ? " Does not each man freely and of his own accord 
enter the marriage state ? Let him then carry the cross 
which he has chosen. Let him overlook the trifling defects 
of the wife and strive by gentle reasoning to correct the 
graver ones. Let him answer a quarrelsome wife as Job did 
his scolding one : ' ( You talk like a foolish woman."" 

Likewise the wife should bear with the husband as she is 
subject to him, she should study his wishes as an inferior 
studies those of his superior. The rib bends itself around 
the heart ; so should the wife bend her will to that of her 
husband. The Spouse in the Canticles 8 says : " Put me as 
a seal upon thy heart." The seal does not accommodate itself 
so much to the wax as the wax to the seal, whose image it re- 
ceives because it is soft and impressionable ; in like manner 
the wife should be subject to the husband, pliable as wax and 
submissive to his will. This she will do by bearing in silence 
and patience with his defects and weaknesses. Let her learn 
a lesson from the lamb, true type of meekness, and be com- 
forted by the words of Isaias : ' ' In silence and in hope will 
be your strength." St. Chrysostom says : " The wife should 
be the port in the storm, but a tranquil port lest there the 
husband be shipwrecked." Since each has defects, let each 
bear with the other and, by mutual aid, strive to live happily 
lest they both come to ruin. Since man and wife are bound 
irrevocably, the more reason exists for each to study the dis- 
position of the other. By each one giving way to the other, 
and not being tenacious of his or her will, there can be no 
doubt but that harmony will prevail. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

WHY GOD EEQUIKES SATISFACTION. 



I. Lest men should sin too freely. II. That by it they may destroy 
the roots of sin. III. More is required to repair than to make. 
IV. Justice demands it. V. Punishment should be commen- 
surate with sin. VI. Involuntary punishment should be suf- 
fered for voluntary faults. VII. We must be conformed to 
Christ. 

" But go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses 
commanded " (Matt. 8 : 4). 

We read in Judges 20 that, notwithstanding the great and 
repeated slaughters by the tribe of Benjamin, the Israelites 
came out victorious. How ? They first consulted the Lord 
whether they should go to battle, and he consented, saying 
to them : " Let Juda be your leader. " And forthwith they 
went to battle, and that day the children of Benjamin slew 
the children of Israel to the number of two and twenty thou- 
sand. Again Israel consulted the Lord — " yet so that they 
first went up and wept before the Lord until night." And 
he answered them : " Go up against them and join battle." 
Again they were defeated and lost eighteen thousand. 
" Wherefore all the children of Israel came to the house of 
God and sat and wept before the Lord : and they fasted that 
day till evening and offered to him holocausts and victims 
and peace offerings. And they heard : "Go up, for to- 
morrow I will deliver them into your hands." And the chil- 
dren of Israel set ambushes round about the city of Gaba, 
and they drew up their army against Benjamin the third 
time as they had done the first and second. And they were 
victorious. What lesson may we draw from this ? Juda, 
that is confession, is not sufficient. Confession with tears 
does not suffice, because satisfaction is wanting, and without 

45 



46 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

which God is not appeased. God commanded you to con- 
fess your sins, but you do not immediately expiate them ; he 
commands you to weep for them by contrition, and yet you 
are not victorious ; it is orJy after you have offered holo- 
causts and peace-offerings by prayer and fasting aud alms- 
giving that your efforts will be successfully crowned. This 
is the lesson of to-day's gospel. The leper is sent to the 
priest to offer the gift which Moses commanded. Although 
you are clean, go, for there is yet one thing necessary — after 
your sin has been for given and your conscience purified, go, 
offer the gift of satisfaction. But, if by confession and con- 
trition the conscience is purified, what need is there of satis- 
faction ? 

I. Satisfaction is necessary, lest men should more freely 
sin if there were none enjoined. As those who can heal 
their wounds by certain drugs or hidden charms rashly fight 
with every one, and should they forget them are easily van- 
quished, the same thing would happen if the sinner did not 
bring with him the special remedy for the wounds of sin, 
that is, a sense of grief. Who should then be afraid of the 
dangers of sin, and how many consequently would perish if 
the remedy without any cost were so easily at hand. The 
Israelites placed a like foolish confidence in the Ark of the 
Covenant, as if its presence alone, without any exertion on 
their part, could destroy their enemies. When they were 
conquered by the Philistines, they returned to the camp, 
and the ancients of Israel said : " Why hath the Lord de- 
feated us to-day before the Philistines ? Let us fetch into 
us the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord from Silo, and let it 
come into the midst of us, that it may save us from the 
hands of our enemies. And when the Ark of the Covenant 
of the Lord was come into the camp, all Israel shouted with 
a great shout and the earth rang again/'' While they were 
shouting in the presence of the ark, instead of buckling on 
their armor and preparing for the conflict, the Philistines 
rushed upon them and literally cut them to pieces and cap- 
tured the ark. The Philistines, on the other hand, when 
they heard the shout, exclaimed with fear and trembling : 
" Woe to us ! Who shall deliver us from the hands of these 
high gods ? " And in the meantime they prepared them- 
selves for battle, urging each other : " Take courage and be- 
have like men and fight ; " and in this spirit they fought 
and were victorious. In like manner, if no satisfaction for 



WHY GOD REQUIRES SATISFACTION. 47 

sins were required, many Christians would say : What use to 
avoid the graver sins ? Call the confessor and I will tell him 
all at once. But because the guilt of the temporal punish- 
ment remains, and must be expiated either in this world or 
in the next, the way is closed to him by his presumption. 
When Sennacharib, the king of the Assyrians, confided and 
gloried too much in his strength, the Lord said to him : 
" When thou wast mad against me, thy pride came up to my 
ears, therefore I will put a ring in thy nose " (Isaias 37 : 29). 
An iron ring is fixed in the nose of a wild ox, and the heavy 
trunk of a tree is tied to him, which he must drag after him, 
and by this means he is soon tamed. The Lord very wisely 
did this same when he fixed in the wicked sinner the ring 
of penance and tied to him the trunk of satisfaction, to be 
dragged along after sin had been forgiven. 

II. Satisfaction is necessary that by its works, as by anti- 
dotes, the root of sin may be destroyed. Confession indeed 
destroys sin but it does not uproot the bad habit contracted 
in the continuance of sinning. Wherefore, as after the disease, 
the relics and corrupt dispositions remain in the members, so 
in the sinner the habits formed by many acts remain, and 
unless they are destroyed by antidotes, easily draw you to 
your former sins. St. Gregory says : " The heavenly Doctor 
for each and every vice gives an antidote — for voluptuousness, 
continency — pride, humility — anger, mildness — avaricious- 
ness, liberality." Confessors are accustomed to do likewise 
in imposing penance. The Lord adverted to this when, after 
having washed the feet of his disciples, he dried them with a 
towel. A towel is made of three kinds of thread — prayer, 
fasting and almsgiving. Unless the feet are carefully dried 
after washing, they are easily soiled again, for the water 
adhering to the flesh, being mixed with dust, forms mud ; 
for the same reason, if the root of sin adheres to the affection 
of the sinner, when you remove the dust, the former objects 
of sin, instantly you gather mud. With this fruit God 
seems to have washed David's feet when, having forgiven him 
the sin of adultery, he delivered the child born of it to death. 
Why was the son given to death, unless because he too ten- 
derly loved him and this love might urge him on to other 
crimes. Therefore, do not wonder if fasting be enjoined for 
drunkenness, charity for avarice, mortification for carnal 
pleasures, for these seem to be the suitable remedies for the 
disease, 



48 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

III. Because more is required to restore fallen man than 
to create him. God without any labor created man perfect ; 
but how much did he suffer to redeem him ? In a short 
while, seven years, as we read in (3 Kings 6), the temple 
of Solomon was first built without strife ; but, after it was 
destroyed by the weighty sins of the Jews, it required forty 
years to rebuild it and that with armed force, as we read 
in (2 Esdras 4), that every one with one hand did the work 
and with the other held a sword. Such is the spiritual 
edifice, which is built in the salvation of souls, In baptism, 
regenerated without labor, we become, through the grace of 
God, his city and house. If, however, afterwards, by the 
advice of the devil, or by returning to our former sins, we 
fall again, and the victorious enemy by the fire of vice des- 
troys the walls of virtue, it is necessary to restore the build- 
ing of good works by a more earnest application of the sorrow 
of vigils and of a stricter life. It is more difficult to rid 
ourselves of known vices than unknown ones, and it is less 
labor to avoid the unknown pleasures of the flesh than to 
reject the known. A horse that you have never driven to a 
certain stable will easily pass it by ; but if you once drive 
him to it, he will always want to go to it, when you go that 
way, unless you use the whip. He does not need the whip 
of penance who has not entered the stable of the devil ; but 
he is greatly in need of it who has entered only once ; how 
will you turn away your flesh, untrue horse, unless you use 
the whip of affliction ? 

' ' I will go after my lovers who give me my bread, my 
water, my wool, my flax, my oil and my drink" (Osee 2 : 5). 
But listen to God's answer in the next verse : " Wherefore, 
behold I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and will stop it 
up with a wall and she shall not find her paths." 

IV. That judicial process should be observed. For when 
the sacrament of penance in a tribunal of conscience is ad- 
ministered, no justice admits that he who trampled on the 
received grace of Christ should be restored by that sentence 
of the judge without any punishment, for certainly he has 
the annexed obligation of satisfaction lest the force of justice 
be brought to bear. "For whom the Lord loveth he chas- 
tiseth and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth " (He- 
brews 12 : 6). Hence the beautiful distinction as to the man- 
ner of treating a son who remains faithful and the one who 
runs away. The father chastises the former, that is, he repre^ 



WHY GOD REQUIRES SATISFACTION, 49 

hends by word, for that is properly to chastise according to 
Apoc. 3 : 19 : " Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise/' from 
mere anxiety for the good of the son. The latter is sub- 
jected to more severe punishment if he returns to his father, 
for if he is scolded who remains, most justly should he be 
scourged who deserts him. Wherefore David, although ap- 
peased, had ordered Absalom to be recalled to Jerusalem, 
however he would not allow him to appear in his presence 
for two years. This Absalom looked on as the greatest pun- 
ishment, so much so that he preferred to be put to death 
rather than be any longer deprived of the sight of his father. 
Since it is very ungrateful for a son to leave the best of 
fathers and go over to the enemy, the indignation of that 
father is justifiable when he chastises that son on his return. 

V. Because since there are two things in sin, a turning 
away from God as our last end and a turning to the creature 
who is wickedly placed before God ; therefore, besides the 
punishment inflicted for turning away from the Creator, the 
punishment of the senses was decreed against the sinner 
turning to the creature. Listen to Jeremiah speaking in the 
person of God : "For my people have done two evils. They 
have forsaken me the fountain of living water, and have 
digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold 
no water. . . . Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and 
thy apostacy shall rebuke thee " (2 : 13, 19) ; that is the 
punishment of the senses and the punishment of the 
damned. See how a twofold punishment is fitted to a 
twofold crime. But since, according to St. Augustine, 
to sin is having spurned the unchangeable good to ad- 
here to the changeable, how are there two evils, a turning 
from God and a turning to the creature, and not rather one 
only ? If a servant flees from his lawful master, he seems 
to commit only one crime. Certainly so. But if he flees 
from the best and kindest of masters to the most vile and 
most cruel ? Does he not double the fault by leaving his 
lawful master, acting against justice and right, and going to 
a most contemptible tyrant ? The Lord says : " They have 
left me their highest good and have gone to idols ; " and 
since they are nothing they cannot aid them, they only can 
drink the turbid and fetid water of vice. 

The Lord said to Adam : " Because thou hast eaten of the 
tree whereof I commanded thee thou shouldst not eat, cursed 
is the earth in thy work : with labor and toil shalt thou eat 

4 



50 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it 
bring forth to thee " (Gen. 3 :17). If God forgave the sin 
of Adam, why not also the punishment ? Why did he not 
leave him in Paradise, unless that it were just that he should 
taste the fruit of the tree which he had preferred to God ? 

Thus, when one repents, he eats the bitter fruits of sin — 
satisfaction, which he himself had chosen. The same thing 
is seen in David, whose child, born in adultery, the Lord 
kills as a punishment ; so that in the death of the child David 
should taste the fruit of his licentiousness, prone on the 
earth weeping and fasting. Nathan did not say to penitent 
David : God has remitted thy sin — but he has transferred 
thy sin from thy eternal death to the temporal death of thy 
son ; he has changed for thee scorpions into stripes, the ser- 
pent's poison into wormwood, that at least you should taste 
the fruit of your sin. 

VI. That voluntary sin should be atoned for by involuntary 
punishment, as Gerson says. Although the intellect of man 
inclines to the honest good and orders it to be chosen, hav- 
ing put aside the pleasing as noxious ; the sinful will, how- 
ever, as by mere rashness and lust having left the better, that 
is, the honest, selects the less good, the pleasing. Wherefore, 
that this rashness of a depraved will should be deservedly 
punished it is proper that it be forced to undergo something 
which it naturally flees from. Balaam's ass was a type of 
this, for when she saw the angel with a drawn sword on the 
road, she turned aside and went through the field ; but 
Balaam beat her till she returned to the road, and there she 
found the angel again in a narrow place between two walls 
and she was unable to turn aside. The same with sensuality 
leading a man to sin against God. When he adverts to the 
threats of God warning him not to proceed, because its way 
is perverse and leading from God, what does it do ? It leads 
him through the field of delightful good so that, in some 
way having forgotten the injunction of God, he rushes freely 
into sin. If he returns through penance to the road of 
virtue, he will find him from whom he fled — the sword of 
satisfaction, and he will go where he does not wish to, who 
went where he should not. 

VII. That we may be likened to Christ, who satisfied for 
us, and so apply his satisfaction to ourselves. If one wishes 
to draw to himself the juice of the merits of Christ he should 
be likened to him in his passion, Christ, without a doubt, 



WHY GOD REQUIRES SATISFACTION. 51 

satisfied for us, but only as to sufficiency, not efficacy, for to 
this second our cooperation is required. If you wish to drink 
you must first let down the bucket to draw the water, then 
pour it into your pitcher, place that on your shoulder and 
carry it home. 

Christ has prepared for us a well of saving water to eternal 
life — a well of his merits, not only sufficient for us, bat over- 
flowing. But, because you see the well before you, do you 
immediately drink ? Lower first the bucket of your heart 
and draw the water of contrition ; then by confession pour 
forth your heart as water ; finally place it on your shoulder 
and by satisfaction carry your sin. 

Christ surely carried your iniquities when he carried the 
cross ; but do you not read that Simon the Cyrene was forced 
to carry the cross after Jesus ? as though he lifted the lighter 
part while Christ had the heavier. 

Unless you likewise carry it and lift at least the lighter 
part you cannot apply his passion to yourself. Samuel, by 
prophetic spirit knowing that Saul was coming to be 
anointed king, ordered a shoulder of mutton to be kept from 
his dinner, saying : " Behold, what remains I place before 
you, eat." The shoulder is the member of labor ; Christ, 
after the supper of his passion, places it before you to carry 
the burden of penance. Christ by the cross redeemed all ; 
but there remained for him, who would be saved and reign 
with him, to be crucified. " If we suffer with him, we shall 
reign with him/' says St. Paul. Therefore, if one wishes to 
obtain a complete victory over sin, his greatest enemy, he 
must not be content with mere confession, and the shedding 
of tears of contrition ; he must besides add fasting and other 
works of satisfaction ; by these sacrifices he pleases God so 
that, not only the sin itself is remitted, but also the punish- 
ment due to it. 



FOUETH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

THE MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. 



I. Miseries of the body : — Nakedness, weakness, inconstancy, a 
perpetual wave. II. Miseries of the soul : — Perplexity and in- 
stability, continual anxiety, ignorance and inconstancy, rebel- 
lious passions, burden of sin. III. External miseries: — Ca- 
lamities, snares of the devil, fear of death, fear of judgment of 
God. 

" Lord, save us, we perish " (Matt. 8 : 25). 

We see the state of human life depicted as by an artist's 
brush in to-day's gospel when we see Christ with his disciples 
sailing on the sea of Tiberias. What is a boat, but the body 
of man ? who sails in it, but his soul ? what is the sea, but 
the world ? what is the port whence we start, but the ma- 
ternal womb ? what is the port whither we are tending, but 
the grave ? 

Wherefore St. Gregory says truly : " Our life is like a 
sailor." The damned in hell bear testimony to this as we read 
in the Book of Wisdom (5 : 10) : " As a ship that passeth 
through the waves, etc., so we also being born forthwith 
ceased to be." This is confirmed in the very birth of man, 
in which the umbilical cord, which binds him to the mother 
as a ship to the shore, is cut. When the ropes are cut the 
ship sails out into the deep ; so the child goes forth into the 
world. 

I. Miseries of the body. When a ship is launched she is 
without covering, unarmed and empty, without sails, motive 
power, provisions, etc., so man comes into the world naked 
and helpless, weak and ignorant ; neither can he speak nor 
help himself, nor ask help from anyone ; he can only cry out 
as though declaring his miseries. Other living beings are 
born with their coverings, some with their scales, some with 
feathers, some with hair, some with wool, as trees are covered 

52 



THE MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. 53 

With bark. Soon after birth they know how to prepare food, 
they swim, fly, crawl, run, and without any guide they find 
the mother's breast ; man alone comes into the world naked, 
exposed to all the storms of heaven ; he cannot eat unless he 
is taught ; he does not know how to walk, he must be carried ; 
he does not know his parents ; he does not reach the age of 
reason till about seven years ; he does not laugh till forty 
days after birth ; he cannot defend himself till he is in robust 
health. 2. As a ship is a fragile pile of wood, of beams or 
joists put together with spikes, a pile that is easily damaged 
and rent asunder ; so the body of man is made of bones and 
nerves, as Job says, weak and infirm. A pestilential odor, 
an infectious air, a burning sun, a fierce winter easily pros- 
trates it and often causes death. One dies from a drink of 
cold water, another from too much wine, another from 
grief, another from imaginary fear, another from the bite of 
a serpent, etc. I shall say nothing of everyday infirmities, 
which must be expelled by medecines from the system else 
death will ensue. 3. As a ship is always restless on the 
waves, never remaining in a fixed place, so the body of man 
is subject to change ; in infancy it is four-legged, in old age, 
three-legged, in middle-life, two-legged ; flourishing and 
beautiful in youth, fading in manhood, gray-haired and 
homely in old age. " Man born of woman, living for a 
short time, is filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth 
like a flower and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow and 
never continueth in the same state " (Job 14 : 1, 2). Child- 
hood is weak in both body and mind ; youth is weak in 
mind, strong in body ; old age is weak in both body and 
mind ; as a ship is narrow in the bow, wide in the center and 
narrow again in the stern. Childhood is cunning and sweet, 
youth and manhood serious, old age morose. 4. As a ship 
in its course is always tending with utmost speed to its 
destined port, although the sailors may eat, play or sleep ; so 
our body is continually tending to death ; and as the ship is 
propelled by each stroke of the engine, so our body by each, 
beating of the heart. Hence, St. Gregory says : " He who 
sails, stands, sits, lies down, walks, because the ship is mov- 
ing ; so with us, whether asleep or awake, silent or talking, 
every moment of time, we are moving to our end." In the 
meantime, deceived by self-love, we do not know that we 
are rushing to death more swiftly than the east wind ; we 
think that others will die soon, that we shall live a long time, 



54 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

as though our life were at our disposal. St. Jerome says : 
" Daily we die and daily we are changed, and yet, against 
faith and experience itself, we believe that we are eternal. 
There is no one so broken down in old age, who does not be- 
lieve that he has another year to live. 

II. If we consider the mind of man, we shall see that it 
resembles the captain of a ship who rules all on board. He 
has his own miseries. He has narrow quarters, must be con- 
tent in a small cabin, even though he were a prince. So the 
rational mind, born for the highest good, dwells within the 
narrow confines of the human body and is, therefore, always 
restless, seeks higher things, envies those who are better, 
and finally is not satisfied with any created object. No one 
desires to exchange his state with another ; he thinks that 
he is happier. Farmers say merchants are happy, and mer- 
chants say farmers are happy. The private citizen envies 
the honors of a judge ; the judge envies the rest and quiet of 
the citizen. Clerics hold that the state of lay people is more 
secure and tranquil, and lay people hold the opposite. There 
is no one content with his lot. How many emperors and 
kings have abdicated the throne ! As the sick are always 
restless in bed, now turning this way, now that, seeking rest 
but never finding it, because they do not know that the 
cause of their unrest is an internal malady, so with mortals. 
A man says : " And whereas, I have all these things, I think 
I have nothing, so long as I see Mardochai the Jew sitting 
before the king's gate" (Esther 5 : 13). Man was born for 
eternity and therefore cannot be satisfied with the temporal. 

2. The captain is always anxious about his ship, how he 
shall govern it, how provide for the passengers, how defend 
it against hostile ships, how bring it with its cargo safely into 
port. So the minds of mortals are continually agitated by 
fear, sorrow and grief even without cause, so they can say with 
(Job 7 : 20) : " Why am I become burdensome to myself ? " 
How many hardships do mortals suffer in earning a living ! 
Do they not like the spider for years meditate, while they 
disembowel themselves with varions thoughts how they shall 
weave the net to capture the prey although it is vile and un- 
certain ? 

3. He is ignorant of many things and for this reason he is 
upset in his calculations. Often he does not know whither 
he is going, whether he is to meet friends, or enemies. So 
also there is little light in the human intellect ; man knows 



THE MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. 55 

a few things and is ignorant of a great many ; and what he 
knows, he soon forgets ; the unknown he learns with diffi- 
culty ; he desires to know more and this desire becomes a 
torture ; for the more he knows the more he sees he does not 
know. What shall I say about his inconstancy ; he changes 
every hour, he quickly departs from the opinion he had 
i formed ; when often he is most stupid, he believes himself 
• most wise ; now sad, now joyful, now calm, now excited, 
'now timid, now brave, now he laughs, now he weeps. In a 
word, as the chameleon changes his color according to the 
variety of objects, so does man according to the various ideas 
which present themselves as (Job 14), says: "He never 
remains in the same state." 

4. In olden times slaves were used to ply the oars on the 
ships, and at times they would mutiny against the captain, 
overpower him and take command of the vessel. So the 
human reason has five senses, then rebellious passions bound 
to the body ; — love prefers itself to some and desperately 
adores others ; hate scorns salutary things and sometimes it- 
self and God ; concupiscence revels in harmful, foolish and 
useless things ; hope promises itself, that which will never 
come ; fear is dissolved in idleness and dreams of dangers 
where they are not ; rashness rushes into all dangers of dam- 
nation ; anger is insane etc., etc. 

5. The weight of overloaded merchandise bears heavily on 
the ship, so that the captain, to save himself and crew, is often 
obliged to throw it overboard. So the mind of man is op- 
pressed by the weight of sin, and the heavier it becomes the 
longer he lives. If he does not wish to imperil his salvation, 
he should get rid of it by penance, and resolve to lead a new 
life. Often this load of sin becomes so heavy that some men 
cannot bear it, and therefore commit suicide and plunge 
themselves into the dreadful abyss ; others are always in a 
drunken stupor, so that they cannot see the gravity of their 
sins ; others, conscious of their crimes, are like fugitives 
running hither and thither, and even from themselves ; 
others, overcome by grief, willingly forsake their crimes. 

III. If we look outside the ship, we shall see dangers. 

1. Storms by which the sea is lashed into fury and the 
ship is hurled on the rocks or driven to hostile shores, or 
tossed about far from land until provisions give out, and 
they must fight against hunger and thirst. In like manner 
external calamities ruffle the life of man : pestilence, wars, 



56 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

hunger, slavery, earthquakes, fires, robberies, etc. But the 
very calm itself and prosperous winds very often bring dan- 
ger to him : — plenty, power, health, etc. By these he is 
carried out into the deep and forgets his God, and at length 
is shipwrecked ; by these adverse winds he is hurled into the 
slough of weakness and despair. These two states play with 
man as the waves with the mariner. 

2. Enemies and pirates are met who must be fought, and, 
therefore, the ship must be well provided with arms and am- 
munition ; so each one must meet many enemies, who are 
always dangerous. He meets the pirates, those devils who 
always infest the sea of life, most cunning, most powerful, 
and most cruel. Then men themselves who are wolves and 
cut-throats ; then, not only the larger and more ferocious an- 
imals, lion, tiger, bear, etc., but the smaller ones, flies, 
gnats, frogs, etc. 

3. The mariner meets rocks and other impediments to re- 
tard his course. So the life of man is set in the midst of 
nets, with which the world is so filled, as St. Anthony once 
saw it that, overwhelmed, he cried out : " Lord, who can 
escape all these nets ?" Such nets are : honor, money, 
pleasure, wine, woman and song, which withdraw some from 
progress in virtue and draw others to themselves and hold 
them fast, and at length shipwreck them. Hence it is that 
so many souls perish daily ; there is no security anywhere ; 
as a ship is perfectly safe only when she is drawn up on the 
beach, so man is safe only when he has departed this life. 

4. The fear of shipwreck is always before the mariner's 
eyes ; he is only a short distance from death. Certain phil- 
osophers doubted whether the mariner should be placed in 
the number of the living or the dead. Another called mar- 
iners twice dead. For the like reason, it cannot be but that 
death, than which nothing is more certain, is always before 
the eyes of man. Shipwreck is certain for him. Some suf- 
fer it in their mother's womb as in port ; some in infancy 
when they are launched on the sea of life ; some on the high 
seas in middle age ; some in old age. And as mariners 
perish from various causes : rocks, enemies, storms, etc., so 
mortals from various causes cease to live ; some by a violent 
death, some by a natural one. As the ship was bare and 
empty when it was launched, and again was empty when it 
reached port, so the same is said of man. " As he came 
forth naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return, and 



THE MISERIES OF HUMAN LIFE. 57 

shall take nothing away with him of his labor" (Eccles. 
5 : 14). As a reference to this, of the twelve precious stones 
placed in the crown of the king of France, the most con- 
spicuous is the onyx, resembling the color of the earth, that 
he may know he is to return to earth, whence he came, and 
that a king is nothing else while he reigns than elevated 
earth. That is the greatest misery of all when men live so 
securely as though they were never to die, and they never 
give death a thought. 

5. Mariners arc captives in the hand of God, so that at 
any moment he can destroy their ship and cast them into 
the deep, whence they can cry out with Job : " Eemember, 
Lord, my life is a wind." And although those who sail 
the seas seem to be exempt from the laws of men because 
they are out of their sight and power, as the fishes of the 
deep, yet they are not out of God's sight and power, who is 
most carefully watching them and all their actions. Jona 
strove to iiee from the face of G-od and betook himself to a 
ship, which was soon tossed about by a severe storm, and by 
the design of God he was cast into the sea and swallowed by 
a whale. So we are all in the hand of God. G-reat is our 
misery if we know that our Master is always standing over 
us with the rod ; greater still if we do not know how easy it 
is for him to destroy us. Whither shall we flee from the 
face of him whom we always carry with us ? 

Since these things are so, it is wonderful how man can be 
elated. How can one love the world and its miserable life 
so replete with bitterness ? How can we be without fear 
who navigate among so many dangers ? How many great 
reasons there are for us to cry out : " Lord save us, we per- 
ish ! " How seriously we should labor to have Christ always 
in our boat and to be constituted in his grace. 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

INDUCEMENTS TO LABOK WELL. 



I. God animates us as often as he goes out. II. Our Christian 
profession. III. Good occasions. IV. Grace given for this. 
V. Reward promised. VI. Punishment for the idle. 

" Go you also into my vineyard " (Matt. 20 : 4). 

It is related that the King of Granata, on account of his love 
for a certain Ethiopian, was exiled to Alpuxara. At times he 
would stand on a high mountain and turn towards his na- 
tive land, would fall on his knees and weep most bitterly 
over the loss of his kingdom. His mother would chide him, 
saying that it was very proper and just for him and his fol- 
lowers to weep like women since they did not fight like men. 
The state of Christians is not unlike that of the unfortunate 
king. Paradise was formerly ours ; there we had full power ; 
there we had unalloyed pleasures and delights ; we had no 
fear of misery and death. But on account of our love for the 
abandoned Ethiopian — a vile creature — we were expelled 
from our kingdom and home, and reduced to slavery. There- 
fore we should often turn to the East, where paradise was, 
fall on our knees and give vent to our sorrow in groans and 
tears. This we do to-day while in the Office of the Church 
we recall the fall of our first parents, and the time of their 
wandering ; and therefore the canticles of joy ; Te Deum, 
Gloria and Alleluia are silent ; in the Introit we sorrowfully 
intone : " The groans of death have surrounded me, the 
sorrows of hell have surrounded me." And while we are thus 
lamenting, our Mother the Church, urging us to fight for the 
recovery of our lost kingdom, proposes to our consideration 
the story of the laborers in the vineyard. In the Epistle she 
says : " Thus run, that you may understand ; " and in the 

58 



INDUCEMENTS TO LABOR WELL. 59 

gospel : " Why stand you here the whole day idle ? " why do 
you weep in vain ? Go to work, take up your spades, take up 
your arms and use every endeavor to recover your lost country. 
Unless you do this, you will surely weep like women, because 
you have not fought like men. Therefore, by a careful 
study of good works and by spiritual warfare we can recover 
all that we lost — nay more, a celestial paradise instead of a 
terrestrial one. 

I. To this God urges us by so many means and labors. 
The householder went out five times to seek and conduct la- 
borers into his vineyard. God goes out when he does any- 
thing outside himself, when he invites us by various calls, by 
the Scriptures, sermons, miracles, etc. If these goings-out 
are not laborious to God, that one was very laborious, in 
which, by his very self and in his own person, he descended 
to earth and for thirty-three years did nothing else than seek 
laborers, never resting from his journeys and even forgetting 
to eat when he was hungry. (i Jesus being weary with his 
journey sat thus on the well" (John 4:6). He asked 
a drink of water from the Samaritan, in the meantime forget- 
ful of food and drink, because he was seeking laborers. If 
we would consider all the labors God underwent for our 
sakes, who would not be animated ? who would not be urged 
to work well ? and this alone he asks of us. If parents labor 
so strenuously for the proper bringing up of their children, 
leaving nothing undone to provide for them, depriving them- 
selves of even the necessaries of life for their sakes ; should 
not the children, seeing all this, cheerfully respond and strain 
every nerve to profit by such noble self-sacrifice ? It often 
happens that the children of the poor advance more rapidly 
at school than the children of the rich, because they know 
how much it costs their parents to keep them there. It is 
God who with so much labor keeps us in the school of the 
Church ; who has gathered together all that is necessary for 
our eternal crown by many journeys, by great fatigue, by 
hunger and thirst, by his most precious blood ; who went out 
from heaven to visit us, who goes out often by various inspi- 
rations, especially in the Holy Eucharist. Should we not 
then cheerfully respond to such labor undergone by God for 
us ? If the parents should find that all their labor was in 
vain, that their children turned out to be lazy, good-for- 
nothing beings, squandering all they had accumulated in the 
sweat of their brow ; would they not have just cause for 



60 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY, 

grief ? What are we doing, they would say, for whom are 
we working, for whom do we suffer hunger and thirst ? Our 
children are idle, lazy, voluptuous, giving free rein to their 
passions — to the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence 
of the eyes and the pride of life. Therefore, God in all truth 
could say of such children what we read in Eccles. 2 : 18, 21 : 
" I hated all my application wherewith I had earnestly la- 
bored under the sun. . . . When a man laboreth in wis- 
dom and knowledge and carefulness, he leaveth what he hath 
gotten to an idle man ; so this also is vanity and a great 
evil." 

II. Our Christian profession. We are bound by a special 
obligation to work well for God and to serve him by good 
works on the strength of our calling, in which we should 
imitate Christ our master, " who went about doing good and 
healing all." This is indicated in the gospel while the 
laborers were gathered together and sent to the vineyard ; 
for the householder did not select the men at court, the 
nobles nor the studious who might only walk around the 
vineyard and amuse themselves eating grapes, but laborers. 
Now there is no doubt but that we are invited to the vineyard, 
therefore we must be laborers in it. As Adam was placed in 
the garden of paradise, ({ that he might guard it and care for 
it," so we are placed in the Chnrch. What would the lord 
of the vineyard say if he saw those whom he called lounging 
around, and not working ? And we wish to be called laborers 
of God when we spend our lives with our own personal affairs 
and scarcely once in a day give a thought to our high and 
noble calling ! Are we ignorant of what God did with the 
fig tree that bore leaves only and no fruit ? Did he not say 
to it : "May no man hereafter eat fruit of thee any more 
forever." This tree is a type of the Christian man. It is 
more fruitful than other trees, bearing oftener than once 
a year ; so the Christian above all others should be produc- 
tive of good works ; otherwise he will be more severely pun- 
ished by God. After St. Bernard had become a monk, he 
was wont to ask himself : " Bernard, why have you come 
here ?" Let us ask ourselves the same question : Why have 
you come into the vineyard of the Church ? Why are you so 
taken up with secular pursuits as to be unmindful of your 
high calling ? Why does the Church prescribe fasts, con- 
fession, attendance at mass, etc. ? She wishes us to strive 
earnestly after Christian perfection. It will not suffice to 



INDUCEMENTS TO LABOR WELL. fa 

be Christian in name only — the fig tree bore leaves, and 
yet it was condemned. We must be Christians in deed and 
show by our earnest labors that we cheerfully respond to 
the divine call. 

III. Occasions, opportunities, inducements to work well. 
In the vineyard of the Church we have the best opportunities 
for working well. Not so heretics, who are outside the vine- 
yard. We are indeed the " tree which is planted near the 
running waters" (Ps. 1), because, placed near the fountains 
of grace, we can drink in the greatest moisture of merits. 
What are the sacraments, especially penance and eucharist, 
sermons, precepts of faith, examples of saints, holy books, 
masses, indulgences, ceremonies of the Church, sacred im- 
ages — what are all these but fountains perpetually flowing by 
our doors, whence, if we will, we can drink to satiety of the 
waters of life and lay up for ourselves a treasury of merits. 
Heretics and Jews are not in this vineyard, nor have they 
such an abundance of graces. More truly can they say than 
we : " No one invited us/'" If they had the same opportuni- 
ties we possess, if they had the same fountains and rivers, 
how earnestly they would labor in the Lord's vineyard ! We 
have proof of this in what the Lord says in Matt. 11 : 
' ( Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee Bethsaida : for if in 
Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have 
been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in 
sack-cloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Siclon in the day of judgment than for 
you." How do you think bad Christians will feel on the day of 
judgment when they will remember how many rivers of grace 
they allowed to flow by without deriving any benefit there- 
from ? Then they will bewail with intensest grief so many 
opportunities forever lost. 

IV. Implements to labor with given us by God : grace, 
knowledge, faith and other virtues. Why is grace given us 
in baptism, strength in confirmation ? "Why is faith ex- 
plained to us in sermons, if not to teach us to live by it ? How 
absurd it would be for a laborer with a spade to go into a vine- 
yard, and there walk around idly — the same for the Christian 
who carries with him grace and knowledge and faith and 
does not use them to his profit. ' ' We do exhort you not to 
receive the grace of God in vain " (2 Cor. 6). Kings were 
anointed on the shoulders that they might become strong and 
valorous. Christian kings are anointed in baptism and con- 



62 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

firmation surely not to remain idle, but to battle bravely for 
an eternal crown. " By the grace of God I am what I am, 
and his grace in me hath not been void ; but I have labored 
more abundantly than all they " (2 Cor. 15). How many 
carry the sword of grace and never unsheath it ! How many 
carry the key of knowledge and never use it to unlock the 
bountiful stores of Scripture ! How many have the oppor- 
tunity of becoming enlightened in sermons with regard to 
their duties and obligations and never seize it ! 

V. Reward promised. There is a vast difference between 
the laborers of the Lord and our laborers. We give the 
promised reward to the laborer, but we do not give him the 
fruit of his labor. If some one sows for you, you do not 
give him the harvest ; if some one builds for you, you do not 
give him the house. But God does this. He not only nour- 
ishes us and rewards us while we labor in his vineyard, but 
he promises us and gives us the whole fruit of our labor in 
heaven, because he wants us not to labor for him but for our- 
selves. " Say to the just man that it is well, for he shall eat 
of the fruit of his doings. . . . And the Lord of hosts shall 
make unto all people in this mountain a feast of fat things, 
a feast of wine, of fat things full of marrow, of wine purified 
from the lees, he shall cast death headlong down for ever " 
(Isaias 3 : 25). Here the prophet seems to allude to the wine 
feast given after the vintage. As the laborers are invited to 
the feast, so will God invite his laborers to a feast in the 
mountain of heaven. But there is a great difference in these 
feasts ; those of men, especially laborers, are not on marrow 
nor wine with lees, that is simple, pure delight ; for with 
the delights of this world are mixed many cares, anxieties, 
vanities, etc. Although they appear pleasant they will not 
last. But the heavenly banquet will consist of the best and 
choicest goods — meats, refreshing to behold — all the saints, 
the angels — Christ himself — the splendor of heaven — a won- 
derful symphony most pleasing to the ear — the most delici- 
ous savors — the sweetest odors — the most charming society. 
A banquet without care and sadness — an everlasting banquet 
from which no one will ever be ordered to rise. Formerly it 
was customary among some to place a skull on the banquet 
table to remind the guests that it was not to last forever. In 
heaven there will be no such reminder ; for the " Lord shall 
cast death headlong down forever." Rightly was the reward 
for the laborers in the vineyard called a denarius, a coin of 



INDUCEMENTS TO LABOR WELL. 63 

ten asses. For denarins is a perfect number representing 
the observance of the ten commandments ; it is round, sig- 
nifying eternity ; silver, the excellence of glory ; daily, the 
shortness of labor, that is of a day ; for this laborious life is 
as a day compared with the heavenly one ; its dawn is child- 
hood ; morning, youth ; midday, manhood, and evening, old 
age. On the coin is stamped the image of the ruler, that is, 
the beatific vision of God, and although it is the same in all 
as in the coin, it is participated in in a greater or lesser de- 
gree by the blessed as the sun is brighter to a clearer eye — in 
the vineyard some went before, some followed, in receiving 
their wages. The superscription is all the treasures of wis- 
dom and knowledge of God. Who will not labor freely in 
the vineyard of the Lord ? If we labor for a coin for one 
day, what should we do for an eternal reward ? 

VI. Punishment for the idle. The lord of the vineyard, 
Christ, will come and exact from us an account of our labor. 
Wo to you idle ones, when you shall be found void of gooc!; 
works ; what will you answer when you hear : " Why stand 
here the whole day idle ? Why have you passed your whole 
life without any fruit ? Where are your labors ?" It will not 
do for you to answer : Lord, we have not destroyed anything 
in your vineyard ; we have not done harm to any one ; wo 
did not prevent any one from working. This will be of no 
avail, for he will not say : Why do you stand here, ye evil 
doers ? Why did you destroy my vineyard ? but — " Why 
stand ye here idle ? " For this alone you will be condemned, 
because you have done nothing good. We have a figure of 
this in Judges 12 : " And the Galaadites secured the fords 
of the Jordan by which Ephraim was to return. And when 
any one of the number of Ephraim came thither in flight 
and said : I beseech you let me pass, the Galaadites said to 
him : Art thou not an Ephraimite ? If he said : I am not, 
they ordered him to say Scibboleth, which is interpreted an 
ear of corn. But he answered Sibboleth, not being able to 
express an ear of corn by the same letter. They presently 
took him and killed him in the very passage of the Jordan." 
This is what will happen to us. We must all some time 
cross the Jordan — the river of judgment — doubtful and dan- 
gerous. The Galaadites guard it — the angels bearing the 
entire accumulation of testimony against us. Galaad means 
accumulation of testimony. Therefore, when an Ephraimite 
— a Christian soul — comes to that river of judgment, the 



64: SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

angels will ask, Is it a Christian soul ? It will not suffice to 
say yes, for then the angels will ask it to pronounce the 
word Scibboleth — ears of corn of good works, and if unable 
to do so, wo to that soul, for it will be strangled and cast 
into everlasting fire. 

Christ himself assures us that all these things will happen. 
" So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go 
out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. 
And they shall cast them into the furnace of fire " (Matt. 
13 : 49, 50). 

Christ shall separate the good from the bad, as the shepherd 
separates the sheep from the goats, and shall say to the wicked: 
" Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire which was 
prepared for the devil and his angels : for I was hungry and 
you gave me not to eat ; I was thirsty, and you gave me not 
to drink ; I was a stranger, and you took me not in ; naked, 
and you covered me not ; sick and in prison, and you did not 
visit me" (Matt. 25 : 41-43). 

Let us then work faithfully in the Lord's vineyard, so that 
when evening comes we may hear that sweetest of invita- 
tions : " Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom 
prepared for you." 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

MANNEK OF HEARING THE WORD OE GOD. 



I. Preparatory prayer. II. Preparatory compunction. III. Strict 
attention. IV. Earnest memory. V. Careful consideration. 
VI. Thanks. 

" And other some fell upon good ground, and being sprung up, yielded fruit a 

hundred-fold " (Luke 8:8). 

There is a great difference with regard to the seeds men- 
tioned in to-day's gospel. Some fell by the wayside and were 
trodden down, some fell on rocks and perished, some fell 
among thorns and were choked. What is the meaning of 
these various conditions ? They are not in the sower, who is 
one and the same, not in the seed, which was equally fruitful. 
The difference, therefore, is in the soil. From this we learn 
that the fruitfulness of the word of God depends on the con- 
dition of the sinner. No matter who the preacher may be so 
long as he is commissioned by God ; no matter the kind of 
sermon as long as it is consistent with the word of God — 
there is little reference to the fruit. Everything depends on 
the hearer. 

I. Before planting, the earth is prepared by plowing. 
Before hearing a sermon, the soul must be prepared by prayer 
that the heart may become docile, the mind collected, the 
ears opened. The preacher may fill the minds of his hearers 
with words, but he cannot open the ears of the heart, that 
the hearer may believe, receive and apply to himself what is 
said. Only God can do this. " And a certain woman named 
Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, one that 
worshiped God, did hear ; whose heart the Lord opened to 
attend to those things which were said by Paul " (Acts 1@ : 14). 

St. Chrysostom says : " Little or no fruit can be derived 
from sermons without the preparation of prayer." St. Paul, 
5 65 



66 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

always begins his epistles by prayer, that the light of prayer 
may guide and direct his speech. As the birds of the air, 
the demons are always laying snares for the word of God, it 
should be guarded and preserved by prayer, lest we be pre- 
vented from hearing it, or deprived of its teaching. As 
crows are driven from the cornfield by the image of a specter, 
let us at the beginning of a sermon make on our foreheads 
the sign of the cross to drive away the crows of hell. All 
good Christians bless themselves and pray before sitting down 
to meals. Let us do likewise before sitting down to partake 
of the bread of life. 

II. Before sowing, the field is cleared of thorns, briars, 
stubble and stones. So, when you wish to hear the word of 
God with profit, you must cleanse the soul by compunction 
and sorrow for sin. For although sinners can and should 
hear the word of God ; they will hear it, however, with 
greater benefit, if their hearts are prepared by contrition. 
(( Break up anew your fallow ground and sow not upon 
thorns" (Jerem. 4). " Wherefore, casting away all unclean- 
ness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive 
the ingrafted word, which is able to save your souls " 
(James 1). St. Chrysostom says : " If one wishes to pat 
some precious ointment in a vessel, he sees that it is first per- 
fectly clean." In what esteem do we hold the word of God, 
when we allow it to enter an unclean heart ? Before sitting 
down to table we wash our hands. Sermons are the spiritual 
food of the soul. The Israelites were ordered to wash their 
garments before they heard the promulgation of the law 
(Exod 19). 

III. The seed is sown in the field and not on the highway ; 
so the word of God should be received in the heart, with a 
watchful mind and a silent tongue. St. Chrysostom says : 
" If when the letters of a king are read, there is profound 
silence ; all ears are open to hear their contents ; and should 
any one make the slightest noise, he is in danger ; much more 
profound should silence be, much more attentive the listeners 
when there is question of the word of God." 

St. Augustine requires the same attention in hearing the 
word of God as in receiving communion lest the particles fall 
on the ground. He says : " He is no less guilty, who negli- 
gently hears the word of God, than he who, through careless- 
ness, lets the sacred Host fall to the earth." Then he adds : 
" I would like to know if, from the moment one begins to 



MANNER OF HEARING THE WORD OF GOD. 67 

preach, your daughters would stand and receive the most 
precious jewels and gems we could desire. We, because we 
cannot and should not offer temporal gifts, are not readily- 
listened to. He who freely hears the word of God is certain 
that he receives from heaven most precious gifts for the soul." 
Therefore, the heart should be opened and the word of God 
drunk in with the greatest delight as something most precious 
and necessary ; as the advice of a skilled and learned physi- 
cian is listened to by his patient. With what attention and 
care and silence would that physician be heard who would 
declare with the utmost confidence that he had remedies, not 
only against all ills, even incurable ones, but also how to ac- 
quire wealth and successfully offset the machinations of our 
enemies. But the word of God will do all these things. 
Magdalene cast herself at her Master's feet, for she knew he 
was the heavenly physician of her soul. Many hear the word 
of God with little or no profit because they do not apply it 
to themselves as they are ignorant of their sickness. They 
apply what they hear rather to their neighbors. If so and 
so were here, how nicely the cap would fit him. One would 
imagine that the preacher knew exactly the mode of living 
of so and so, so accurately does he depict his actions. I give 
thee thanks, Lord, that I am not like these poor sinners. 
Thus they reason with themselves, never for a moment imag- 
ining that they are in need of any spiritual prescription, and 
yet they may be suffering from a complication of diseases 
which requires the tenderest nursing of the Divine Physician 
himself. They see the mote in their brother's eye and do not 
see the beam in their own. 

We must not attend to the art nor the eloquence of the 
preacher, but to the spirit and the matter itself. Let us 
pluck the apples and heed not the leaves. We must not make 
too much of the condiments of speech, which are sometimes 
used to the delight of the hearer and to help the memory. 
Otherwise he who prefers the sauce to solid food gives evi- 
dence of possessing a disordered stomach. At table we 
neither stand nor walk, but sit, that we may eat with more 
contentment and at our ease. We are careful about the 
crumbs that fall from the table, and would consider it a sin 
to leave them to be trampled on. Is not the bread of the 
soul of more value than the bread of the body ? 

IV. The harrow is used to cover the seed and bury it, as 
it were, in the earth, lest the birds should steal it. So the 



68 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

word of God should be stowed away in the memory, lest it 
should soon be forgotten and become a prey to hellish birds. 
"When the magpie," says Pliny, "sees that her nest is 
sought by man, she transfers her eggs to another, lest she 
lose her young." The word of God is a little nest of eggs 
which the devil assails ; it should be carefully guarded and 
planted deep in the mind, lest through forgetfulness it 
be taken from us and that the eggs of good resolutions 
may never be rejected. David was wont to act this way when 
he says : " Thy words have I hidden in my heart, that I may 
not sin against thee " (Ps. 118). The bottle in which distilled 
water is kept is tightly corked, so that the strength of the 
water should not evaporate. The same should be done with 
the word of God. But some one will object that there are 
too many things in a sermon and that it is impossible to re- 
member them all. But it is not necessary to retain all ; it 
suffices that each one select what applies to himself and his 
needs. As at a banquet there are many kinds of food, yet 
one is not obliged to partake of them all, he may take what 
pleases him and leave the rest. When a preacher has a 
variety of hearers, he places before them a variety of doctrines, 
not that each one should observe them all, hut that he should 
take to himself the points which will benefit him. The same 
may be said of corporal food. After it has been taken the 
stomach closes itself for digestion, which is a sign of good 
health ; on the contrary, it is a sign of poor health to reject 
the food from the stomach. St. Gregory says : ' i The food 
of the mind is the word of God, and as received food is re- 
jected from the stomach, the received word of God is not 
retained in the mind. The one who does not retain nour- 
ishment is certainly to be despaired of." Only those will 
derive profit who, with a good heart hearing the word of God, 
keep it. 

V. The seed in the field is crushed and in a way dies : so 
the word of God must be handled with diligent consideration 
as though it were given up to execution. The Lord ordered 
the Jews to bind the words of his law to their hands, to med- 
itate on them when at home, when on a journey, when they 
went to bed and when they arose ; that they should place 
them not only in their hearts, but before their eyes, and 
write them above their doors (Deut. 6 : 11). The Gentiles, in 
order to be more deeply impressed by their laws and to pre- 
serve them, formed them into songs and chanted them. 



Manner of hearing the word of god. C9 

What then should Christians do ? Incense does not emit an 
odor nnless it is put in the fire ; so no sentence of Scripture 
reveals its strength unless it is thoroughly cooked in the 
mind. The messengers of God, his words, should be admitted, 
not only in the door, but even to the innermost recesses of 
the heart ; therefore, when you hear that one mortal sin 
merits hell-fire, you should examine whether perchance 
in you there is only one or more, whether there be some 
hidden ones you make no account of ; how easily you fall 
and what would happen if you were to die in your sins. The 
same thing we can be taught from corporal food ; before we 
take it with profit, we must first masticate it well, otherwise 
it will become injurious to us. This is well said in Proverbs : 
ei A desirable treasure rests in the mouth of a wise man, but 
a foolish man swallows it." 

The treasure is the word of God, the mouth in which it 
rests through consideration is the heart of the wise man. 
Such was the most wise Mother of Christ, as we read in Luke 
2 : " But Mary kept all these words, pondering them, in her 
heart." She made a careful review of them as diligent 
students are wont to do after having read some works. The 
foolish man, who does not use reflection, swallows sermons 
and derives no benefit from them. 

VI. The seed committed to the earth is watered by rain 
and nourished by the heat of the sun. The action of grace, 
which we can merit through the goodness of God, should so 
envelope a sermon that an increase from the sown seed should 
be obtained. So after meals thanks are given to God, by 
which we express the hope that he will allow us to eat again 
on the following day. The same thing we do at the end of 
a sermon, by reciting some prayer, so that the word of God 
with his blessing may produce great fruit in us. 



QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, WHICH IS UNMLNDFULNESS 

OF OUR LAST END. 



I. Craftiness of the devil. II. Incredulity of men. III. Love of 
self. IV. Presumption. V. Fear of sadness. VI. Supine 
neglect of salvation. 

" Lord, that I may see " (Luke 18 : 41). 

The Egyptian darkness was so dense that no one could see 
his neighbor ; it lasted for three days and nights and indi- 
cated the blindness of mind of Pharao and the Egyptians, 
who, after so many plagues, would not believe in God nor 
provide against the calamity threatening them. In to-day's 
gospel we read of the blind man near Jericho, a type of all 
blind mortals seated by the wayside of salvation near a 
foolish world. For Jericho, according to St. Gregory, sig- 
nifies the moon and represents foolishness. 

Unmindf ulness of our last end is the greatest blindness ; 
for though we know for a certainty that we shall die and 
then be judged, yet we make no preparation for these 
solemn events. The same way, when we know that hell is 
the place for sinners, we revel in all manners of vice, and 
sleep securely. What greater calamity could befall us ? If 
at any other time, now more especially, men are blind so 
that it may be said with the Wise Man : " The number of 
fools is infinite. They are a nation without counsel and 
without wisdom : that they would be wise and would 
understand, and would provide for their last end " (Deut. 
32 :28, 29). On next Wednesday the Church will sprinkle 
ashes on your heads to remind you of your nothingness, after 
the example of Christ, who, with clay touched the eyes 
of the blind man mentioned in another part of the gospel, 

70 



CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 71 

and restored him his sight. Let us weigh well the causes of 
this wonderful blindness. 

I. The craftiness of the devil and unceasing study to pre- 
vent men from remembering their last end. For he well 
knows the great power of memory. It is related that Getu- 
lus, a shepherd, seeing a ferocious lion rushing at him and 
knowing the great strength in his eyes, threw his cloak over 
the lion's head and thus easily subdued him. The devil 
knows what strength is in the human eyes when they consider 
their last end, and therefore he labors strenuously to cover 
them, and once covered, he has no difficulty in subduing them 
and bringing them under his sway. Was not Sampson a lion 
who, while he could see, was not only invincible, but brought 
terror and destruction to the Philistines ; but when they put 
out his eyes he became helpless, and they made all kinds of 
fun of him ? He who is unmindful of his last end walks 
easily in the circle of his vices, which if he had his sight he 
would not do, to rejoice in evil things, to spurn salutary advice 
and to make light of small things. Then the devil persuades 
him not to listen to the Word of God in sermons ; to read 
obscene books ; to frequent places of sin ; to give free rein 
to his passions ; to revel in all kinds of Bacchanalian delights. 
King Avennir pursued the same policy to prevent his son 
Josophat from embracing the faith. He provided all kinds 
of pleasure for him and banished the least indication of gloom 
and sadness. And he would have succeeded, were it not for 
St. Barlaam, who, with a wiser cunning, instilled into the 
mind of the young man serious thoughts of his last end, and 
finally succeeded in making a great saint of him. So the 
devil acts with men, keeping the mind fixed on the present 
and filled with thoughts of pleasure, keeping a telescope be- 
fore them in which pleasures are magnified and brought 
nearer ; banishing from the mind all sadness, looking at 
it through the inverted telescope, which makes it small and 
as remote as possible. What foolishness to suffer to be 
blindfolded or to have our eyes plucked out ! We should 
have our eyes wide open to all the suffering and misery 
around us ; see the many funerals which pass our door daily ; 
listen to the Word of God ; read good books ; thus keeping 
constantly before us the memory of our last end. 

II. Incredulity. When men see themselves living riot- 
ously, and when they know from the precept of Catholic doc- 
trine that, unless they shun the occasions of sin, unless thev 



72 QUINQUAGESiMA SUNDAY. 

do penance and have a firm purpose of amendment, they will 
suffer eternal torments. When they are unwilling to change 
their lives and live a life of penance, they begin to persuade 
themselves that the doctrine of the Church about the severity 
of judgment and the eternity of hell is entirely false and not 
consistent with the thought of a merciful God. And they 
very easily find arguments to confirm them in this belief. 
How can a most merciful God inflict eternal torments for 
one or a few light sins ? How can he allow innumerable 
mortals who are almost all sinners to perish ? These doc- 
trines are only the bugaboos of preachers and they do not 
refer to us. At times they are moved by some sorrow, by 
the death of a relative, etc., but soon the original thought of 
their incredulity stifles all fear the same as when pigs, hear- 
ing the gruntings of one of their number that has been 
stuck with the knife, desert their food, but, when death 
comes, they forget their fear and return to the troughs. But, 
if men would consider how grave and dangerous a disease sin 
is, it would not be difficult to persuade themselves that they 
deserve eternal punishment even though the whole world 
should be infected by it. The gravity of sin is such that we 
cannot comprehend it. It is such that, to conquer it, it was 
necessary for the Son of God to leave his home in heaven and 
come to earth. When we hear that some one is so sick as 
not to be content with the doctors in his own city, so that 
the most skilful from afar are called in, do we not conclude 
that he is in a very dangerous condition ? What must we 
think of sin when no earthly doctor was of any use ; but the 
Son of God had to be brought from heaven and the most 
precious medicine made up from his body and blood ? 

III. Self-love promising a long life. Aristotle says that 
certain nations attributed all their good deeds to themselves 
— and all bad deeds and vices to some external cause. If 
they did anything good, they were anxious to receive reward ; 
if anything evil, they did not wish to accept punishment. 
From a like root have sprung certain errors of Christian 
writers, which are ably refuted by St. Augustine. Some as- 
serted that Catholic Christians, dying in sin, would not suffer 
eternal torments ; others held that Heretics, who at some 
time had been Catholics, would not suffer ; others that after 
judgment all faithful or unfaithful would be saved, whether 
by their own merits or by the merits of others, etc. All 
these errors were caused by a blind self-love. It is this that 



CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. 73 

puffs people up and causes them to fall. St. Peter, following 
Christ and hearing him predict terrible things about his pas- 
sion, said : " Lord, this will not be so ; " but Christ answered 
him: " Get thee behind me, Satan, you do not know the 
things that are of God " (Matt. 16). So reason argues : " Be- 
hold how soon you will be old ; how soon your days will pass ; 
how soon you will die ; it may be this day, month or year." 
But self-love says: " You shall not die ; this shall not be 
so." But what happened to that rich man who said : "Soul 
take thy rest, thou hast much goods laid up for many years ? " 
Did he not hear : " Thou fool, this night do they require 
thy soul of thee" (Luke 12). Do we not daily hear of sud- 
den and unprovided deaths ? Babylon was accused : " Thou 
hast said I shall be a ladv forever : thou hast not laid these 
things to thy heart, neither hast thou remembered thy last 
end"(Isaias 47). Of the reprobate : " We have entered into 
a league with death and we have made a covenant with hell " 
(Isaias 28). 

IV. Presumption on divine mercy. They say that the 
thief found pardon at the last moment ;. that peace was 
promised to men of good will ; that good will and sorrow for 
sin are easily compatible ; that God is more prone to be mer- 
ciful than to punish ; that heaven was made for men and not 
for geese, etc. Many blind mortals, because they see God 
rich in mercy, although they know that they have very few 
good works, but rather many bad ones, think, nevertheless, 
that he will forgive all or accept a part for the whole. But 
they deceive themselves. Hear Job, who, though a great 
friend of God, said : " I feared all my works, knowing that 
thou didst not spare the offender " (9 : 28). As a king not 
only does not spare him whom he has exalted and who after- 
wards becomes rebellious, but is much more incensed against 
him, so does God act. Did he spare offending angels ? Did 
he spare his only Son, when through love for us he clothed 
himself with our infirmities ? By no means. Vain, there- 
fore, is the presumption of man. For, as God showed his 
infinite power in the creation of the world and his infinite 
mercy in redeeming it, lo he will show his infinite justice in 
judging it. 

V. Fear of sadness and melancholy, if we keep before our 
eyes the thought of our last end. Those who argue this way 
are like Julius Caesar, who, when asked which kind of death 
he desired, answered : " A sudden death." And this he ac- 



74 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

tually met in the Senate, when pierced with twenty-three 
wounds, he fell at the base of Pompey's statue, " which all 
the while ran blood." I should agree with Caesar if there 
were not a doubtful life after this. But a Christian, unless 
he is blind, cannot agree with him. There is this difference 
between a sudden and an anticipated death, that the former 
comes to one unknowingly, from behind, as it were, and 
plunges him into untold misery ; the latter appears before 
his eyes and makes him provide for his safety, and finds 
him ready. A thief while in prison can more seriously think 
on means for his release than if he were suddenly brought 
before the judge ; so they act most prudently who always 
have their last end before their eyes. The thought of our 
last end certainly brings with it sadness and fear of death 
and judgment ; but it does not hasten them, no matter how 
much you think, as a ship glides on, whether you be asleep 
or awake. It brings sadness, but not lasting, to those im- 
mersed in pleasures ; to others a sweet sleep and a longing 
desire, as to St. Paul, ' l to be dissolved and be with Christ." 
Such Christians always rejoice and sing with David : " I re- 
joiced in those things that were said to me. We will go into 
the house of the Lord." Finally, it brings a salutary fear. 
i( For although I made you sorrowful by my epistle, I do not 
repent " (2 Cor. 7 : 8, 9). ' ' Now I am glad : not because 
you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sor- 
rowful unto penance." This momentary fear is followed by 
external joy. 

VI. Supine negligence, when it is said in Isaias 47 : 7 : 
" Thou has not laid these things to thy heart, neither hast 
thou remembered thy latter end," St. Augustine says : 
" Men die daily, and those who live carry them forth and 
hold funeral services. No one says : I will amend my life, 
lest to-morrow I may be dead like he is to-day." 

Our friends and relatives die around us daily, and we 
never think that we, too, like they, shall die. Animals pro- 
vide for coming storms ; sailors provide for them ; life- 
savers provide for them. Foolish mortals, why do you not 
provide for eternal storms ? The Lord formerly complained 
of the Jewish people : " The kite in the air hath known its 
time : the turtle and the swallow and the stork have ob- 
served the time of their coming : but my people have not 
known the judgment of the Lord " (Jer. 8 : 7). Would that 
this were said against the Jews alone and not against us also ! 



CAUSES OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. ?5 

The birds of the air know their time to come to us and to 
leave us. In the springtime they come to build their nests 
and at the approach of winter they seek warmer and more 
congenial climes. But we miserable mortals do not know 
the springtime, that is, the opportunity for doing penance, 
for pieasing God, for accumulating good works while we are 
strong and able. Let us not wait for the cold and bitter 
winter of God's wrath. Moses truly called ns a race with- 
out wisdom, without prudence. Would that they had known 
and understood and foresaw their last end. St. Bernard 
says : " Would that you knew the things of God ; that you 
understood the things of this world ; that you foresaw the 
torments of hell ; surely you would dread hell, you would 
seek heaven and despise the world." 

Let us ask with the blind man first for ourselves : " Lord 
that I may see ; " let us ask with Eliseus for our blind breth- 
ren : " Lord, open their eyes, that they may see." When a 
band of robbers find themselves in a hostile country they flee 
from it and never return ; so if we could see ourselves in the 
midst of enemies — an angry God above us, death before us, 
judgment behind us, hell beneath us, we would forsake all 
sinful pleasures and give ourselves up entirely to the con- 
templation of our last end. 



FIEST SUNDAY OF LENT. 

WHAT MUST WE DO DUKItfG LENT ? 



I. Fast. II. Watch. III. Pray. IV. Restrain our desires. V. 
Study solitude. VI. Fight with the devil. 

"Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil " (Matt. 4:1). 

What spirit led Christ into the desert, unless the spirit 
which a short while before rested on him in the baptism in 
the Jordan, and which proceeds from the Father and the 
Son ? With the greatest promptitude, the greatest alacrity, 
then, did Christ go into the desert, because as St. Ambrose 
says : " the grace of the Holy Spirit knows no slow en- 
deavors." that we would enter Lent with such a spirit of 
action, that we would not be forced, that we would not be 
sad, that we would merit to be called really the sons of God, 
according to the apostle : " For whosoever are led by the 
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God " (Eom. 8 : 14). I 
will believe, therefore, that you begin this season filled with 
the Holy Spirit, if you strive to do those things which Christ 
himself did in the desert. 

I. Christ fasted, not as a remedy for himself, but as an ex- 
ample for us ; for when did Christ need to fast, since he 
experienced no rebellion of the flesh, much less could he be 
conquered by it. What the master does for the pupil, Christ 
does for us. A musician playing for his pupil does not play 
to learn but to teach the pupil. The harp of the body of 
Christ is admirably fitted ; there is no want of moderation of 
the passions, no discord of a rational and sensitive appetite 
of the flesh and the spirit ; and hence it was prepared to 
practise all the acts of virtue, and to fulfil all precepts. 
Not so our bodies, in which there is a contradiction of spirit 
and flesh, by which we are prevented from running easily in 

76 



WHAT MUST WE DO DURING LENT? W 

the way of God's commandments ; the flesh must therefore 
be crushed ; the chords of the passions must be stretched ; 
the senses subjected to reason that they may be in accord 
with the spirit and will of God. For this reason Lent was 
instituted by the Apostles that we might, during it, prepare 
to sing afterwards at Easter the joyous Alleluias of the 
angels. St. Ambrose says : " He who says he is with Christ, 
should walk as Christ walked ; if, therefore, you wish to be a 
Christian, you must do what Christ did. He who had no 
sin fasted forty days and nights ; you who have sinned do 
not wish to fast during Lent. He had no sin, and, yet, he 
fasted for our sins. What kind of Christian then are you ? 
While Christ is suffering from hunger, you eat ; while your 
Saviour is fasting, you are relishing good things." When 
Rudolph of Austria was at war with Otto of Bohemia, and 
suffering greatly from want of water, his soldiers brought 
him a measure full which they took from a farmer who was 
carrying it to his men in the field. (i Return the measure/' 
said Rudolph, " for not for myself was I thirsting, but for 
my army ;" whereupon the army resolved to suffer every hard- 
ship for the sake of such a leader. Will we not cheerfully 
fast with our Leader Christ, since he does so, not for himself, 
but for us ? 

II. He watched, because no one sleeping can be said to 
fast. Christ is said to have fasted forty days and nights, and 
the tempter did not find him asleep. His only bed being the 
hard earth, he was easily and very often aroused. The Lord 
knew that when men wish to live piously, then are to be 
found the greatest snares. He was not tempted in Bethlehem, 
nor in the Temple among the Doctors, nor in Nazareth, nor 
at the time of his baptism ; but during his fasting and aus- 
tere life ; because then the devil especially ensnares man 
when by penance and reformation of life, he desires to flee 
from him. Then did Pharao oppress the Israelites with la- 
bors and punishments, when they wished to throw off his 
yoke and sacrifice to the true God in the desert (Exod. 5). 
We have entered the arena of fasting, and we also will try to 
throw off the yoke of the devil by penance. He does not 
leave a stone unturned to prevent us from our good resolve ; 
he prepares the bed on which we may lie sound asleep in our 
former sins ; but we must watch and be on our guard, re- 
calling to mind our manifold sins ; exciting remorse in our- 
selves and preparing for Confession. Who could sleep if he 



78 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT. 

knew his house was surrounded by thieves ? Are we not 
surrounded by legions of devils, who are doing their utmost 
to rob us of that most precious treasure, our immortal soul ? 
Should they gain an entrance, eject them through the sacra- 
ment of Penance. It will help very much to this, if we add 
to our corporal watching some time spent in pious reading 
and prayer. How can soldiers be sluggish when their leader 
is wide awake ? il And Urias said to David : The ark of God 
and Israel and Juda dwell in tents, and my lord Joab and the 
servants of my lord abide upon the face of the earth : and 
shall I go into my house to eat and drink ? " (2 Kings 
11 : 11) . He preferred to sleep before the king's gate, although 
he was commanded to go into his house. 

III. He prayed and meditated because he was led into the 
desert by the Holy Spirit, a place most suitable for prayer 
and meditation ; for the same reason we must give more 
time now to prayer and meditation as the Church increases 
the number of prayers ; while she deprives us of bodily food 
she increases the heavenly food of our souls. Where are we 
to find the desert to retire into ? The Church is that desert, 
for it is a most suitable place for prayer. At this time espe- 
cially it resembles a desert ; it is made dismal by the exposi- 
tion of the instruments of the passion ; its penitential altars, 
its hymns of sadness — all which should inspire us with a 
singular devotion and incite us to sincere compunction and 
help us to profound meditation. Finally, the Church is 
called a desert, because, alas, it is too often deserted as the 
Lord complains : " My house is desolate and you make haste 
every man to his own house " (Agg. 1). Would that the 
spirit lead you hither ! But how different are the spirits of 
many ! The good spirit of Christ leads him to watching, to 
prayer and to fasting ; the evil spirit of sinners leads them 
elsewhere ; the spirit of vanity to uncharitable gatherings ; 
the spirit of gluttony to an inordinate satisfying of the appe- 
tite ; the spirit of avarice to gambling ; the spirit of intem- 
perance to the loss of all self-respect, to the utter destruction 
of both body and soul. These are the spirits that entered 
into the swine and rushed with them into the sea, according 
to Matt. 8. 

St. Augustine says : " Our body is a desert when it is sub- 
dued by abstinence ; when it appears pallid and wan from 
thirst ; when the whole appearance of man is disfigured by 
contempt of human things". Then Christ inhabits the desert 



WHAT MUST WE DO DURING LENT? ft) 

of our bosom when he finds onr earth squalid from hunger 
and dry and parched from thirst." 

IV. He was with beasts, says St. Mark. But what did he 
do with them ? There is no doubt but that they all ran to 
him, crouched at his sacred feet, and obeyed promptly the 
least expression of his will, as they did Adam in Paradise, 
as they did many saints — St. Francis, St. Theodore, Father 
Aviedo in India, etc. There is no doubt they were all gentle, 
and when he moved about they accompanied him ; when he 
stood, they stood ; when he lay down, they lay down around 
him. Would that we could do the same, especially during 
this season, with our ferocious habits and desires. Our 
passions are the wild beasts which, before sin, obeyed us and 
were subject to reason as they were to Adam ; after the sin 
of Adam they began to rebel against reason, as they did 
against him, and they roam through our mind, our heart, 
our very being, like wild animals in a forest. Such beasts 
are : — love and hatred, sorrow and joy, hope and despair, 
rashness and fear. These beasts must be conquered and 
brought under subjection and made obey reason. If you 
have a roaring lion within yon, that is, a bitter hatred to- 
wards your neighbor, command him to stand still and obey. 
If you have a leopard in you that trembles at the voice of a 
little bird, that is, if you have a fear of the sacrament of 
penance, command him not to fear ; if you have the wolf of 
greed and avarice, command him to make restitution ; if you 
have the panther of gluttony and drunkenness, command 
him to abstain ; if you have the bear of idleness and sloth, 
command him to engage in prayer, to receive communion 
often, to assist regularly at mass, etc. When the gentle St. 
Francis bade the little birds sing, they warbled delightfully ; 
when he bade them be silent, they as promptly obeyed. Let 
us also command our passions : our love to be fixed on God 
alone ; hatred to be detested as an abominable vice ; sorrow 
to be borne with the patience of Christ, the Man of sorrows ; 
rashness to be reprehended publicly ; fear not to be driven 
away by the difficulty of penance. 

V. He was alone except with the angels. The rest of the 
time he lived in cities among men ; now he converses in the 
desert with angels, for the " angels came to him;" nay, 
more, they ministered to him, and, according to some writers, 
they brought food to him. Let us also at this time abstain 
as much as possible from human conversation, and engage in 



80 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT. 

angelic in its stead. Man has in his soul something angelic, 
namely, the superior part of his soul which attends to the 
affairs of salvation ; and the inferior part, which provides 
for the temporal concerns ; the former, things angelic ; the 
latter, things human. During almost the whole year, the 
inferior is troubled about what we shall eat and drink, what 
we shall wear, how we shall get rich ; how we shall be ele- 
vated in the esteem of men ; scarcely ever does the superior 
part pay heed to these. So now it must be given an oppor- 
tunity to study how we are to deplore and extirpate our 
vices ; how we are to implant virtues and to acquire merits. 
Birds remain nearly always in the air or on the branches of 
trees ; they do not come down to earth only when they want 
food. Let us now seek food for our souls, who have been 
caring for our bodies our whole life. 

But where ? In the desert and in the solitude of our heart ; 
let us descend from the society of men ; from the tumult of 
worldly cares ; let us compose the interior man ; let us watch 
our footsteps that we may be elevated on high with the 
angels ; that we may more intimately know the sinful 
habits and defects of our heart. We spend our lives in the 
midst of such tumult and noise that we cannot hear ourselves 
and our conscience calling on us to reform. Let us now go to 
that solitude of the soul like Daniel, who, when about to pray, 
entered his house by the windows towards Jerusalem and 
the temple, the other windows having been barred. Let us 
also bar our senses, cares and thoughts of the world that 
lead to Babylon ; for in the tumult of the world we are 
not allowed to worship God as we should, nor to care for our 
immortal souls. 

VI. He fought with the tempter. He is the very same 
tempter now that tempted Christ, first, with regard to the 
palate, to break his fast and eat forbidden food. He per- 
suades many that their delicate complexion or weakened state 
does not oblige them to fast, to make bread of stones, to do 
away with the severity of fasting and to indulge in all kinds 
of food. We are commanded by the second precept of the 
Church to confess our sins and to receive Holy Communion, 
but he persuades us to cast ourselves down, that is, without 
previous examination of conscience, without fear of hell to 
make light of the Sacraments and to receive them unworthily. 
We are commanded to renew our lives, to give up our former 
habits, but he shows us the riches and pleasures of this world ; 



WHAT MUST WE DO DURING LENT? 81 

the riches unjustly acquired, the enmities and the hatreds, 
and says : What, will you desert us ? if you say good-by to 
your former sinful companions, how will you do without 
them ? if you surrender your unjust gains, how can you keep 
up your former style of living ? who will not scorn you, if 
you suffer quietly the loss of your good name, and are not 
revenged on your detractors ? But we must fight against 
the tempter and use the same weapons Christ used : the 
sword of the Word of God, pious reading and attentive listen- 
ing to sermons. How can you argue against him, saying : 
" It is written," unless you read the Scriptures or hear them 
expounded by Christ's ministers ? If you are tempted to 
break the fast, now can you say : " He that does not hear the 
Church, let him be to thee a heathen and a publican;" also : 
" NTot in bread alone does man live but in every word that 
proceeds from the mouth of God." If tempted regarding 
Confession — ' ' Unless you do penance, you shall all likewise 
perish." With regard to unjust possession of others' goods, 
St. Augustine says : " Sin is not remitted unless what is 
stolen is restored." If tempted to hatred and envy — " he 
who hates his brother kills his own soul." Secondly, by the 
exclusion of temptations, saying : " Get thee gone, Satan." 
" The Lord repulsed the enemy and would not allow him 
to tempt him further," says Origen. Some order the tempter 
to go before them and they themselves follow him — those 
who consent to temptation ; some order him to go alongside, 
who wish to be delighted by thought only. Others order 
him to follow behind who do not wish to destroy the roots of 
temptation, but to remove it from the eyes for awhile and 
then return to it. Others finally with Christ expel the tempt- 
er altogether. Do not parley with him, lest like Eve you be 
deceived. Whoever will observe these things during Lent 
will advance rapidly in the study of virtue, and at the last day 
will be joyfully received by the angels coming to him, bearing 
him the palm of victory. They will announce to the world 
on our resurrection day : " He is not here, he has risen from 
his sins, he has conquered his enemies, his passions, and the 
tempter — behold his crown of reward ' 
6 



SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

THE FOURFOLD TRANSFIGURATION OF MAN. 



I. From the state of grace to the state of sin. II. From the state 
of sin to the state of grace. III. From the delights of this world 
to hell. IV. From the miseries of this life to eternal joys. 

" He was transfigured before them " (Matt. 17 : 2). 

When a great prince in gorgeous array prepares for a 
solemn occasion, a wedding for instance, all his courtiers and 
vassals put aside their ordinary attire and bedeck themselves 
in their finest costumes. To-day our Lord the King of all 
earthly kings appears as a " Spouse coming forth from his 
Chamber," clothed in a new and wonderful garment, beauti- 
ful before the eyes of men while transfigured on the mount 
he shows his glory. What then remains for us who are in 
bis court, the Church, having put off the old man, but to put 
on the new, that we may be transfigured with him and become 
like him ? Moses and Elias, who were present at the glory of 
the transfiguration, "appearing in majesty," are certainly 
an example for us. We must remember that Satan also 
transfigured himself into an angel of light and uses every 
means to have courts and liveried courtiers glittering like 
himself. We must be careful not to be transformed into that 
species which pleases rather the devil than Christ our King. 
Let us see the twofold transfiguration of evil as well as of good. 
For a double reason man is transfigured either with Christ or 
the devil — partially and completely. Partially with Christ, 
when he passes from the state of sin to that of grace — com- 
pletely, when he passes from this troublesome world to heav- 
enly glory. With the devil partially, when he passes from 
the state of grace to that of sin — completely, when he passes 
from the delights of earth to hell-fire. Who will deny that 
these changes can be called transfigurations wonderful and 
great ? 

83 



THE FOURFOLD TRANSFIGURATION OF MAN. 83 

I. Transfiguration from the state of grace to that of sin is 
to be feared. This God has pathetically shown the world in 
Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon, whose arrogance he pun- 
ished with a remarkable humiliation, so that cast out from 
among men, he wandered through the woods as a beast for 
seven years (Dan. 4). 

First, deprived of the use of reason, he used only the im- 
agination and that vitiated, by which he considered himself 
changed into an ox, and those things only belonging 
to an ox, he revolved in his mind. In like manner, 
the sinner is deprived of supernatural light, while he 
indulges in what are vile and hurtful and counts them good 
and beautiful ; nor does he see the danger of his state who 
does not fear God his Judge ; nor does he seek what is law- 
ful, he dreams of sinful pleasures only ; wherefore St. Paul 
calls sinners darknesses : " For ye were, heretofore, dark- 
ness " (Ephes. 5 : 8). 

Secondly, he took on a beastly appearance, because the 
temperament of his body was so changed and became so 
savage that he inclined only to beastly actions and pleasures. 
In like manner, the sinner, especially from the custom and 
habit of sinning, becomes so degenerate, that he should be 
regarded more as a brute than a man on account of his dis- 
torted and depraved will ; and hence no longer is he called 
man by God, but flesh, as we read in Genesis 6 : " My spirit 
shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh . . . for 
all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth." In other 
places men are called different beasts, on account of their 
different evil habits which liken them to such beasts. 

Thirdly, they do not utter human articulate sounds, but 
beastly ones, for the speech follows the imagination. 
Where there is a beastly imagination, there also is 
beastly speech. What sinners are always meditating, 
the same they give expression to. The ambitious — honors ; 
the avaricious — money and wealth ; drunkards — their cups ; 
gluttons — banquets and feasts, etc. These things they speak 
of in their sleep, when sober, and sometimes at the hour of 
death. 

Fourthly, they walk after the manner of a beast rather 
than of a human being : with a deformed face, a sharp and 
hardened skin, nails of an eagle, long and unkempt hair ; as 
to the other members, they are naked and exposed to all the 
elements ; finally crawling on hands and feet on the ground. 



84 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

He seems to call all these to witness when he says : ee My 
figure has been restored to me." A manner very similar to 
this is noticed in man deformed by sin. For you see in him 
the face of conscience so deformed that he does not see the 
stains of his crimes, or, if he sees them, he hides it in drunk- 
enness or worldly affairs that he may not be forced to behold 
it. He has a skin so hard and impenetrable that it cannot 
be pierced by exhortations, prayers, threats or wounds ; such 
a skin as the Ethiopian bulls have, with the hardness of flint 
throwing off every weapon. Claws of an eagle, to seize the 
things which appeal to the appetite. Hairs of perpetually 
fluctuating thoughts, with which all shaggy he is covered 
from head to foot ; a body so deprived of all comeliness, so 
depraved and so intent on passing goods, that at one time by 
pride he exposes himself to be laughed at by others ; urged 
by avarice, he lives in hunger and want ; by excesses, he des- 
troys his health ; he is consumed by anger and hatred ; by 
gluttony and intemperance, he becomes so enervated that he 
can scarcely walk. 

Fifthly, he ate grass like a cow, and this the sinner does, 
when, despising the good and solid food prepared for him — 
the Word of God, the Sacraments — he seeks animal food and 
feasts his mind on the vilest things, such as splendor of dress 
and gold, the pleasures of wealth, obscene conversations, de- 
tractions and calumnies, etc., these are his food ; and finally, 
man, who in baptism was consecrated to God, degenerates 
and is changed into a wild beast ; from the temple of God, 
he becomes the cave of robbers ; from the house of God, the 
house of vanity. 

II. From the state of sin to the state of grace. A type of 
this we have in Joseph, who was freed from prison, into which 
he had been cast without any fault of his, by Pharaoh, and 
raised to the dignity of a prince. He, who a short time before, 
bound, hand and foot, sat in a loathsome dungeon, squalid 
and unkempt, suddenly, by order of the king, is led forth, 
washed and robed in a new garment and crowned with great 
honors. "And he took his ring from his own hand and 
gave it into his hand : and he put upon him a robe of silk, 
and put a chain of gold about his neck ; and he made him 
go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all 
should bow their knee before him ; and he called him the 
Saviour of the world " (Gen. 41). What a great and sudden 
change from the deepest misery to the highest happiness on 



THE FOURFOLD TRANSFIGURATION OF MAN. 8§ 

earth. Such a change is noticed in man when he is Con- 
verted and repents of his sins. He who before was bound 
by the chains of sin, in the darkness of ignorance ; under the 
power of the demon, squalid and deformed from the habit of 
sinning so that, as we saw before, he becomes beastly, he by 
penance is entirely changed into another man. Treed from 
the prison of the devil, washed from the squalor and filth of 
his former vices, deprived of the hairs of worldly thoughts 
and desires, he is endowed with the wonderful gifts of grace. 
He is clothed with a silken robe — grace — which, as a most 
gorgeous garment made by the hands of God alone, so adorns 
and embellishes man that the splendor of all nature, though 
it be as great as in the angels themselves, is scant and paltry 
compared with that of grace. No stars can adorn the 
heavens, no gems a crown, no gold, no purple and fine linen 
a king as grace adorns the soul ; and if we could contemplate 
it here, we would prefer, with St. Catherine of Sienna, to 
die a thousand times, to be even crucified, if we could enjoy 
the sight of it. He receives a golden ring while he is busy 
exercising works of virtue, which, with the aid of grace, be- 
come golden, agreeable to God and meritorious of eternal 
life. So he, who before was a thief, now gives freely to the 
poor ; he who was ready to murder, now bears with his 
enemy and does good for evil ; he who reveled at the ban- 
quet of vice, now wears sackcloth and ashes and crucifies his 
flesh : he who was a drunkard, chastises himself by fasting ; 
he who cursed and swore, appeases God by many prayers, 
etc., etc. He receives a golden chain around his neck be- 
cause all the merits, which before were as dead through sin, 
are now given life and restored to him. These merits, 
linked together like golden rings, form a most beautiful 
chain, and gently and without weight bend down the soul 
with the hope of eternal reward and display it to the admira- 
tion of angels. He is seated in the royal carriage, which is 
peace and tranquillity gently bearing the soul ; which 
" peace," says St. Paul, "surpasses all understanding." 
Certainly, whoever finds this peace in himself would not 
exchange it for all the crowns and scepters of kings. St. 
Augustine says : " How delightful it suddenly became for 
me to want for vain pleasures and joys ; and which there was 
fear before of losing, now there is joy in abandoning." His 
praises are sung by all, and he acquires not only fame, lost 
py sin, but also a glorious name, as in the case of Mary Mag? 



86 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

dalene, who from the greatest sinner became the greatest 
lover of Christ, and whose praises are on the tongues of all. 
The same of Matthew, Paul, Zachseus, Mary of Egypt, etc., 
the stains of whose former lives were not only washed away, 
but converted to their glory. And this is the change of 
which Amos speaks : " Seek the Lord, converting darkness 
into morning" (5 : 8). For what is the sinner but darkness, 
or the inhabitant of a dark dungeon? However, by pen- 
ance, he is changed and is converted into a most beautiful 
golden aurora. We have an example of this change in the 
Prodigal Son, who, having returned to himself and to his 
father, is clothed in royal raiment. " But the father said 
to his servants: Bring forth quickly the first robe and put it on 
him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet ; and 
bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us make 
merry" (Luke 15 : 22). 

III. Prom the joys of this present life to hell — the most 
terrible transformation of all. A type of this we have in 
Sampson, who, as long as he nurtured his hair according to the 
rite of the Nazarenes, was most powerf uland an invincible ter- 
ror to his enemies ; but when, through the deception of Dali- 
lah, his head was shaved, at the same time his strength was lost 
to him ; then with great fury the Philistines rushed upon 
him, and at first put out his eyes, because, says St. Jerome, 
" he used his sight badly," for " he had looked on other wo- 
men and had loved them." And for that brief pleasure he 
suffered perpetual darkness by the loss of his sight. And 
this is the first grade of hellish transformation — most dense 
darkness, or as the Lord calls it "exterior," into which the 
damned fall after they have been deprived of life and handed 
over to the power of the demons ; because here they loved 
the internal darkness of the mind, and the works of darkness ; 
because moreover, they used the light of their eyes most 
criminally for their vicious desires. They led him to the 
strong city of Gaza, the most famous and most remote of all, 
because it was most strongly fortified, and because he had 
brought great disgrace on it when he carried away its gates. 
In the same manner the reprobate are led to the city of the 
demons — hell — most remote from heaven, and most strongly 
fortified. What mountains and valleys surround it ! Hear 
what Abraham says to the rich man in hell : " Between us and 
you there is fixed a great chaos, so that they who would pass 
from hence to you cannot, nor from thence come hither 



THE FOURFOLD TRANSFIGURATION OF MAN. 87 

(Luke 16 : 26). They bonnd him with chains and threw him 
into prison. Such is the fate of the damned, who are bound 
with chains in a space so confined that they cannot move 
about. They made him turn the grindstone, a punishment 
inflicted on the most miserable culprits ; but that is nothing 
compared with the grindstone which the damned are com- 
pelled to turn in hell. Who can count the stripes and blows 
and the burnings with hot irons they receive ? Who can count 
the revolutions of that stone throughout eternity ? The anger 
of God will perpetually pursue them, and that cursed stone 
will revolve forever. " The voice of thy thunder in a wheel," 
says David ; that is, that voice shall thunder against them 
forever who are turning the wheel of eternity. They led 
him with great shouts to his deep disgrace ; for they were 
not satisfied to lead him blind to Gaza, where before he had 
sinfully looked upon strange women and where they deceived 
him, but, on account of this, they held sacrifices and ban- 
quets. Who will explain the shame of this great hero ? 
What a concourse of hostile people while he is led bound ; 
what rejoicings ; what reproaches hurled at him ; what scof- 
fings at his hair ; what vituperations against him and his 
God ! And perhaps they led him through the very entrance, 
which he before had destroyed, to insult him the more ; 
urging him, if he were a man, to repeat his former feat. 
Greater by far and more bitter than these will be the impre- 
cations and derisions hurled at the damned by their victorious 
enemies, the demons. What a transfiguration, from the child 
of God to the plaything of demons ! 

IV. From the miseries and calamities of this world to ce- 
lestial glory — the happiest of all ; which change only the just 
are to expect, according to St. Paul (1 Cor. 15 : 51): "We 
shall all indeed rise again : but we shall not all be changed." 
Christ in his transfiguration is a type of this change. In it, 
his face shone as the sun, denoting the beatific vision, by 
which the blessed are so refreshed and satiated that in it 
alone they will be happy, and will possess everything they 
desire. His garments became white as snow ; by which we 
understand the adornments of body and soul in the blessed. 
The voice of his Father was heard saying : " This is my be- 
loved Son," etc. ; representing the delights of the senses in the 
blessed. Moses and Elias appeared talking with him ; so it 
will be in heaven — a great society of the blessed, varied, most 
resplendent and most delightful. A bright cloud over- 



88 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. 

shadowed them, denoting the royal bine heavens, the most 
clear, the most serene, most secure and most ornate. There- 
fore, the elect, on the day of resurrection, will be greatly 
transfigured with Christ, when they will pass from darkness 
to the sight of eternal light — God ; when they will receive, 
for the filth of a mortal body, a glorified one, that is, bril- 
liant, subtle, agile and immortal ; for sorrow and anguish 
they will experience all the delights of the senses ; they will 
pass from the society of persecutors and reprobates to the 
most agreeable companionship of the blessed ; finally, they 
will desert this valley of tears for the eternal mansions of 
heaven, where there are many nobles whose possession is 
called paradise, whose tabernacles are made of light, whose 
life is God, whose conversation is immortal, whose garments 
are sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb, on whose heads 
are placed crowns of purest gems and gold ; and the King of 
that region is most powerful, whose name is the God of Gods 
and the Lord of Lords ; whose messengers are called Angels, 
whose garments are all alike and whose touch is as a burning 
fire. The city of this king is most renowned and is called 
the kingdom of Christ ; its wall is made of the purest gold, 
having twelve gates ; in each of these hangs a priceless pearl ; 
and these gates are named for the twelve apostles. There is 
a most wonderful temple there containing the Holy of holies, 
and a golden altar before which stands a remarkable man, 
holding a harp and exhorting all to join in the praises of the 
King : " Praise ye the Lord from the heavens, praise ye him 
in the high places. Praise ye him all his angels : praise ye 
him all his hosts" (Ps. 148). And this man's name is David, 
son of Jesse. And the streets of this city are paved with the 
purest gold ; its river flows with eternal life ; its trees bear 
fruit every month, and their leaves produce a soothing balm 
for souls ; its light is unerring, and its gates are never closed ; 
there, there is no night, no darkness ; but always joy and 
perpetual peace. May Christ Jesus, who was transfigured to- 
day, deign to lead us to this transfiguration ! 



THIRD SUNDAY OP LENT. 

1 
i 

'WATCHFULNESS OF THE DEVIL, BY WHICH HE GUARDS 
SINNERS, HIS SLAVES. 



I. He entangles them in sin. II. He does not harass them. III. 
He flatters them. IV. He occupies them with secular pursuits. 
V. He prevents them from wishing to be converted. VI. He 
afflicts them about to reform. VII. When converted, he 
insults them. VIII. When free, he again ensnares them. 

" When a strong man armed keepeth his court, those things are in peace which 
he possesseth " (Luke 11 : 21). 

It is related that the devil, having taken possession of a 
certain holy man, when asked his name, replied : "We are 
three who live in this man, and I am called ' closing the 
heart ' ; my business is to close the heart of the sinner against 
contrition. If, by chance, he escape me, and is filled with 
sorrow for sin, I have another companion called i the mouth ; ' 
whose office is to persuade the sinner against confession ; if 
he fails, I have another called ' closing the purse/ who ad- 
vises the sinner after confession not to restore ill-gotten 
goods, and consequently not to comply with that part of the 
Sacrament — Satisfaction." Those demons were very much 
like the ones mentioned in the gospel, which, according to 
Luke, made the man dumb, and according to Matthew, both 
blind and deaf. Blind, lest he should consider the enormity 
of his sins ; dumb, lest he confess them, and deaf, lest he 
listen to the advice of his confessor warning him to make 
restitution, not to bear malice, to give up his sinful mode of 
living. The devil fortifies himself after the manner of a 
tyrant after he has occupied a fortified town. He knows 
that, especially during the holy season, a bitter war will be 
waged against him and that he will be overthrown ; and 
therefore the Church places to-day's gospel before us to in- 
struct us in the wiles and snares of the devil, and to warn us 

89 



90 THIRD SUNDAY O? LENT. 

from becoming his willing slaves. In the same gospel, two 
captains are fighting for our sonls — Christ and the devil. 
Christ has conquered the demon and has ejected him from 
his stronghold ; and this he will readily do for all sinners, if 
they faithfully co-operate with him. Let us see how the 
devil works to keep his slaves in subjection. 

I. After the devil has brought any one under his power by 
the commission of mortal sin, he labors to entangle him, and 
in a certain way binds him, lest he retrace his footsteps. 
"The spirit has bound him in his toils/' says Osee 4, as 
the King of Babylon did with King Mannasses, who says : 
" I was so bent with the weight of iron chains, that I could 
not raise my head." Thus also he bound David, who laments : 
" The cords of the wicked have encompassed me" (Ps. 118). 
" And behold there was a woman who had a spirit of infirm- 
ity eighteen years and she was bowed together ; neither 
could she look upwards at all " (Luke 13 : 11). The sinner 
is bound while he adds sin to sin, until he no longer fears it. 
The devil urges him to repeat again and again a sin commit- 
ted, until little by little, a habit is formed from which it be- 
comes almost impossible to extricate himself. The habit of 
sin is a strong rope, which is composed of many slender 
cords, each of which may be easily broken, but woven to- 
gether readily resist the ordinary strength of man, as St. 
Augustine knew and lamented. The devil uses many other 
means to ensnare the sinner ; some he joins to evil societies, 
which strongly hold them ; others to great dignity and 
honors, which through shame they will not give up. As the 
spider, when he sees the poor fly caught in the net, enwraps 
his body with more web, and leaves him there secure until he 
is ready to devour him, so the devil acts with the sinner. 
But the sinner must not, therefore, be cast down and dis- 
couraged — as St. Augustine broke his chains, so can the 
sinner by the grace of God, as Sampson did with the ropes 
that bound him. Confide strongly in God, and, fortified by 
the hope of his assistance, do what is in your power. He will 
help you. How often have we not seen good come from evil! 

II. He does not injure them after he has them in his net ; 
nor does he afflict them with temptations, but leaves them in 
tranquillity and peace. The reason is, because he is in full 
possession of them ; as a dog neither barks at nor bites those 
m the house — only strangers. Hunters do not trap domestic 
animals — but wild ones. So does the devil with men. He 



WATCHFULNESS OF THE DEVIL. 91 

has despoiled them of everything — there is nothing more to 
take from them. St. Chrysostom says : " Sailors with an 
empty vessel do not fear pirates, for they do not labor to 
destroy an empty ship ; but if it be loaded with a precious 
cargo — gold and valuable gems then there is every fear that 
all will be lost ; so the devil does not pursue the sinner but 
the just because the prize is more valuable. He bitterly as- 
sails and tempts the just. He tries hard to occupy the house 
already cleaned and adorned. In this way he afflicted holy 
Job. 

III. He flatters them and fills their ears with his seductive 
words that they sleep securely. If their conscience begins to 
trouble them he quiets them by telling them that allowance 
will be made for youth ; that death is a long way off ; that 
there are many others like them ; that God is merciful, etc. 
He proposes many fictitious pleasures never to be had, and 
often promises mountains of gold. So the servants of Pharao 
assisted Abraham, while they brought his wife to Pharao. 
The fisherman, when the fish is hooked, does not immedi- 
ately draw him out but reels off the line until he is sure that 
he is safely hooked ; so the devil acts. The Babylonians 
ordered the captive Israelites to sing with their harps, so that 
they might forget their country. In like manner the devil 
urges us by various flatteries to forget our former state in 
which we lived piously ; but if you are wise you will answer 
with the Israelites : " If I forget thee, Jerusalem, may my 
right hand be forgot." As the glories of the sunset disap- 
pear when night sets in, so shall the glories and splendor of 
this world when death arrives. Then he persuades them that 
death is far off ; they have a long time yet to live and many 
opportunities for repentance. Of him God says to Job : 
" His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning " (41). 
His eyes are the counsels and thoughts which he suggests to 
his slaves ; they are not like the shades of even, but like the 
early dawn, because he does not suggest them in the evening 
of life, at the hour of death, but as soon as they arrive at the 
use of reason — in the dawn of life while there is a long day 
before them, and thus it is not difficult to hold them captives 
in sin c 

IV. He keeps the mind and intelligence busily occupied 
with worldly affairs. So the hawker plucks out the eyes of 
the hawk lest he fly away ; so did the Philistines with Samp- 
§on ? and then made sport of him. So does the devil with 



92 THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT. 

the sinner — he plucks out his eyes that he may not consider 
his last end — may not turn away from the foulness of his sins 
— may think nothing of the future, but everything of the 
present. He destroys their hearing that they may hear 
neither the Word of God nor the voice of conscience. "When 
the followers of Moloch were sacrificing boys to the idol, they 
sounded the drums lest the cries of the children should be 
heard by their parents ; so the devil fills the ears with all 
worldly sounds, lest they hear the threats of an angry God, 
and the cries of a stricken conscience deploring its lost vir- 
tue. He deprives them of the power of speech, especially in 
confession, lest they tell their sins. In the life of St. Francis 
we read that there was a Brother renowned for his sanctity, 
and so careful about the observance of silence, that he would 
confess only by signs. St. Francis, one day hearing him 
highly commended by the others, said : " Let him be ad- 
monished to confess ordinarily once or twice a week ; if he 
does not, then it is a temptation of the devil and a fraudu- 
lent deceit." When they advised him so he placed his hand 
on his mouth, and shaking his head, he refused to make an 
oral confession. What happened ? After a few days he re- 
turned to his wicked life and died a miserable death. 

V. To those desiring conversion, he proposes and exagger- 
ates the gravity of sin, the difficulty of conversion, the sever- 
ity of penance, the ineffable delights of sin, etc. When the 
mourners were bewailing the daughter of Jairus as dead, the 
Lord said : " She is not dead but sleepeth ; " so, when the 
devils can succeed in no other way, they fill the soul with 
despair, and sing a requiem over it as though it were lost 
forever. How, they say, will you confess such a sin ; how 
can you ever repeat it, how can you with such shame leave 
that sinful company ? St. Augustine says that trifles of 
trifles and vanities of vanities fought against him while he 
was considering his conversion. So the devil held Judas, 
having urged him to sin and afterwards so exaggerated his 
crime, as to finally cast him into despair. You must answer 
the devil : " Depart from me ! my soul is not dead, but 
sleeps in the Lord, by whose grace it can be quickened ! " 
Then, again, he urges delay from day to day and in the mean- 
time, he is devising means to more surely secure his victim. 

VI. He afflicts those about to leave him, as Pharao did the 
Israelites, with labors and stripes. The weight of the bucket 
is not felt until it is drawn from the well, so the weight ol 



WATCHFULNESS OF THE DEVIL. 93 

sin at the beginning of conversion. With what difficulty 
you confess — how irksome to give up the long-contracted 
habit of sinning. This is shown in the life of St. Basil, where 
there is mention of a youth who had sold himself to the devil, 
and when he desired to be converted, he was filled with un- 
earthly shouts and yells. A cat does not harass the mouse 
in her possession, but plays with it ; but if it tries to run 
away, then she follows it and seizes it with her sharp claws. 
How many experience this when they wish to join the Church 
— to leave the world and enter religion — to give up a life of 
shame ! So that unclean spirit, when Christ threatened 
him, cried out and tore the boy so fiercely before he left him, 
that every one thought he was dead. So the devil acts with 
the sinner ; he does not trouble him when he has him ; but 
when about to depart, forced by divine power, he suggests to 
the mind most filthy thoughts. Let us despise the insults 
of the demon and persevere in our good resolutions and 
works of piety. The devil may terrify, but he cannot con- 
quer unless we wish it. 

VII. He insults the newly converted through detractors 
and backbiters, as the Jews did, saying to the paralytic : iC It 
is the Sabbath : you are not allowed to take up your bed." 
So they treated the blind man whom the Lord had healed, 
throwing him out of the synagogue, and heaping insults 
upon him. This they did to Zacchasus, Matthew and Mary 
Magdalene after their conversion. 

VIII. He lays snares for the newly converted, taking with 
him seven more devils worse than himself, as the Lord says ; 
and if he sees them negligent, throwing aside all care of 
salvation, giving up good works and taking delight in the 
pursuit of vanity ; again he besieges the lost castle and easily 
recovers it to himself. Therefore, after our hard-earned 
victory, let us watch carefully and always be on our guard, 
lest we lose what cost us so much. 



FOURTH SUNDAY OP LENT. 

PKEBOGATIVES OF THE SEEVAHTS OF GOD ON EARTH. 



I. Interior light is not found in the wicked. II. Divine protection 
is not found in them. III. Sufficient corporal sustenance is not 
found in them. IV. Hearing of prayers is not found in them. 
V. Health of soul is not found in them. VI. The odor and 
authority of a good name are not found in them. VII. Joy in 
passing from this life is not found in them. 

" The men therefore sat down in number, about five thousand " (John 6 : 10). 

Among other causes which we saw last Sunday why many 
serve the world and its vices, neglecting God and virtue, this 
is not the least : a certain general error in which men live 
obstinately persuaded that all reward for serving God is post- 
poned to a future state — none whatever in this life. They, 
therefore, consider the way of virtue hard, and devoid of any 
good or consolation. " For as the king insulted over holy 
Job : so his relations and kinsmen mocked at his life saying : 
where is thy hope for which thou gavest alms, and buriest 
the dead " (Tobias 2 : 15, 16) ? So the wicked in Malachy 
3 : 14 : " He laboureth in vain that serveth God, and what 
profit is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we 
have walked sorrowful before the Lord of hosts ? " The 
Church truly refutes this pernicious error, especially on this 
Sunday, when she orders the servants of God in the midst of 
their fast to be joyful and cheerful. " Eejoice, Jerusalem, 
and make a compact all you who love her, rejoice with great 
joy ! " The history of to-day's gospel refutes it, in which 
Christ feeds his followers in the barren desert. The history 
of the march of the Israelites from Egypt through the desert 
to the promised land refutes it, and this history the Church 
begins to read to-day. In that bitter and prolonged journey, 

94 



PREROGATIVES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 95 

God showed many signs of his goodness to his people, by 
which they were so wonderfully refreshed and comforted 
that they preferred traveling and solitude to Egyptian 
slavery. As this journey of the Hebrews represents the road 
of virtue which the just follow, departing from the slavery of 
this world ; so the benefits which God showered on the 
Hebrews on that journey truly represent the graces which 
God will give to those who will faithfully follow him through 
this weary life. 

I. A pillar of fire led them through the unknown desert 
and warned them when to proceed and when to rest — it pre- 
ceded them when they were to go forward, and stood still 
when they were to rest. Nor did it lead them through the 
land of the Philistines, lest being overpowered by the hosts 
of their enemy they should be returned to Egypt (Exod. 13). 

An angel directed that pillar of fire. So the servants of 
God have an interior light by which they can see clearly 
what they should see : God and his attributes, his benefits, 
his providence in governing the world — in sending good and 
evil. They know themselves, their defects, their weakness 
against which they may safely guard. They know the things 
necessary for salvation, what they should believe, what they 
should do. They know the gravity of sin, its wiles, dangers 
and temptations. They know those things that belong to 
their state and office. They consider their last end and pre- 
pare for it. _ Finally, they know how to apply the remedies in 
time to their defects and falls. Whence they are represented 
in the Apocalypse 4, by those animals that have eyes before 
and behind. " A net is spread in vain before the eyes of 
them that have wings" (Prov. 1 : 17). Those having wings 
are the saints and elect of God who have the wings of faith, 
hope and charity and of the other virtues by which they fly 
to the contemplation of heavenly things ; they have spiritual 
eyes with which they watch out for the snares of the old 
enemy, and thus avoid sin. In vain is the net spread, that 
is, the net of snares of the devil, before the eyes of the holy, 
because they can easily conquer him, because their conver- 
sation is about heavenly things. For they do not see the 
face of sin but its back ; they pay no attention to the pleas- 
ures it proposes, but to the evils which follow it : grief, 
shame, the worm of conscience, judgment and hell. The 
guardian angel is wont to ilia mine them and direct them in 
their acts, as St. Frances of Eome well knew, who consulted 



96 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. 

him as her teacher in all things. The servants of the devil 
have not this light. " We have groped for the wall, and, 
like the blind, we have groped as if we had no eyes ; we have 
stumbled at noonday as in darkness, we are in dark places 
as dead men " (Isaias 59 : 10). 

What can be greater blindness than to sell eternal goods 
for temporal gain and paltry, evanescent pleasure ; to see 
death so often and riot to provide against it ; not to fear hell ; 
to groan under the yoke of sin and not throw it off ? to be 
covered with wounds and not seek a remedy ? 

The Egyptians lived in such utter darkness that no one 
dared move from his place ; while the Hebrews, however, 
lived in light — so the wicked in this world live in darkness — 
the just in light. 

II. By the pillar of cloud he protected them partly from 
the enemy, as when he enclosed the Hebrews and repulsed 
the attack of the pursuing Egyptians, covering these with 
darkness and illuminating the former. Partly from the heat 
of the sun, which in the desert was very great (Deut. 32). 
God as an eagle flew above them, and spread his wings over 
them, and carried them on his shoulders. In the same man- 
ner he hovers about the just, and as the eagle directs his 
eyes to the nest and its young, so the eyes of the Lord are 
fixed on the just. Hence the just are always joyful and glad, 
because they know they are under the shadow of God's pro- 
tection. When Pharao could not follow with his chariots 
and horse, the Hebrews with uncovered heads went forward. 
So the just live in this world with uncovered heads, and in 
the midst of dangers : they need no head-covering, since they 
know they are under the shadow of the wings of God. When 
St. Martin fell among thieves who were to put him to death, 
he said he feared nothing, since he knew he w T as in the power 
of God. Other examples : the three boys in the fiery fur- 
nace, Daniel in the lion's den, Susanna, Job, Tobias, Abra- 
ham, Isaac, Joseph, David, etc., etc. 

The just have in themselves present and ready a reserve of 
many soldiers for all dangers. When the heart is afflicted, 
the blood from all parts rushes thither to lend aid ; so when 
the soul of the just is hard pressed, all the virtues rush to 
her assistance and force the enemy to capitulate. Now faith 
excites it, now charity, now hope, again obedience, patience, 
etc. Faith teaches to rely on God for the saving medicine ; 
hope shows that in a short while they shall be free from 



PREROGATIVES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 97 

this wicked world ; charity shows that they are become like 
Christ ; obedience subjects the will to the divine will ; pa- 
tience consoles, etc. The wicked, on the other, hand are de- 
prived of this good, because they are without God's help ; 
and hence they are exposed to the enemy and to the heats of 
temptation. So of the impious Chanaans say Caleb and 
Josue : " Fear ye not the people of this land, for we are able 
to eat them up as bread. All aid is gone from them ; the 
Lord is with us, fear ye not" (Numbers 14:9). They are 
as a flock without a shepherd, a ship without a captain, an 
army without a general. They have not in themselves the 
help of virtues ; but are found weak and exhausted from 
many temptations and trials and are easily overcome ; and 
by impatience, double the weight of their crosses, and, like 
bread, are devoured by the devil. 

III. He supplied what was necessary for the sustenance 
of the body : as the manna from heaven, the water from the 
rock. " Your garments are not worn out, neither are the 
shoes of your feet consumed with age" (Deut. 29 : 5). So, 
also, whatever is necessary for the bodies of the just, God 
does not permit to be wanting ; and although ordinarily 
there is no abundance, for that would be dangerous, how- 
ever he supplies sufficient ; as he gave the manna to the 
Israelites, and forbade them to collect more than they could 
eat ; nor should they keep any for the following day. 
"Fear not, my son ; we have indeed a poor life, but we 
shall have many good things if we fear God and depart from 
all sin and do that which is good" (Tobias 4 : 23). " Fear 
the Lord all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that 
fear him ; the rich have wanted and have suffered hunger ; but 
they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good" 
(Ps. 33). " Better is a little to the just than great riches of 
the wicked ; for the arms of the wicked shall be broken in 
pieces" (Ps. 36). Because the former trust in the Lord; 
they are not avaricious nor prodigal ; they do not abuse the 
gifts of God ; the wicked trust to lying and fraud and are 
always in want. He adds : " They shall not be confounded 
in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be 
filled." Again : "I have been young and now am old, 
and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking 
bread." We, therefore, see the difference between the good 
and the wicked with regard to the necessaries of life. But 
some may say it often happens that the good must go beg- 

7 



05 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. 

ging and the wicked have plenty. As to begging, David 
speaks of those who took pity on others by giving alms ; as to 
sustenance, the just were not deprived of that. But you say 
many suffer from extreme poverty. But what if they are 
not just ? Surely God has not promised the necessaries to 
sinners — only to the good. " Seek first the kingdom of God 
and his justice, and all these shall be added to you " (Matt. 

6 : 33). Very many beggars have nothing of divine things 
because they do not take care of them ; what wonder if ■ 
earthly things are not added to them. If they are just, they 
will at least be patient and as content in their poverty as 
Lazarus was. The poverty and want of the wicked are fully 
shown in the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. 

IV. As often as they asked anything God heard their 
prayers ; to their desires and complaints he listened ; he 
made the bitter waters sweet ; gave them food from heaven, 
water from the rock, and cured them of the serpent's bite. 
He was so kind to them that Moses said : " Neither is there 
any other nation so great that hath gods so nigh them as our 
Lord is present to all our petitions" (Deut. 4 : 7). He acts 
the same way towards the just who in all their trials have 
ready recourse to him. They have the express promise of 
Christ : " If you abide in me and my words abide in you, 
you shall ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto 
you " (John 15 : 7). " What else is this," says Cardinal 
Bellarmine, " than to constitute the just man lord of crea- 
tion, and to give to him the keys of heavenly treasures, and 
to make him in a measure omnipotent." David proves that 
the just man has life and good days, because "the eyes of 
the Lord are on the just, and his ears open to their prayers." 
If they foresee evil coming, they cry out to God, and they 
find his ears open. If they do not foresee the danger, God 
watches over them, and either warns them to cry out or by j 
some other means averts the impending danger. David says : 
"The just cried out and the Lord heard them." Joshua 
made the sun stand still ; Elias suspended the waters in the 
clouds, and released them at will. Many saints in the New 
Law also did wonderful things. But you say : " Why do 
not I and so many others experience this good ? " Because 
you are not just. " And when you stretch forth your hands, 
I will turn away my eyes from you : and when you multiply 
prayer, I will not hear you : for your hands are full of 
blood " (Isaias 1 : 15). If you were good you would receive 



PREROGATIVES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 99 

"what you ask. He adds : " Wash yourselves, be clean, take 
away the evil of your devices from my eyes ; and then come 
and accuse me, saith the Lord ; and if your sins be as scar- 
let, they shall be made white as snow." 

V. He preserved them strong and in good health during 
the whole journey. " There was not among their tribes one 
that was feeble " (Ps. 104). They needed this strength on 
account of the journey. Otherwise in the just it is not often 
found, because they do not need it ; they are compensated 
by a better health, which is security of conscience and tran- 
quillity of soul, by which they despise and even make sweet 
the bitter ; they spurn dangers, laugh at the tempestuous 
waves of the world, and know not fear. St. Chrysostom 
says : (< As he who on a rock laughs at the waves as he sees 
them break with mighty force on the shore and dissolve into 
foam, so the good man, secure in virtue, fears not the rag- 
ings of hell itself, but is tranquil and composed." As in 
famine, war, tempest, sickness or death itself, he is calm, 
according to Pro v. 12 : (l Nothing shall sadden the just 
whatever shall happen to him." The wicked, on the other 
hand, are disturbed in mind whenever they are sick, when 
they read of accidents, whenever it thunders, when there is 
lightning, when they see death, when they think of their 
last end, as Felix, who was terrified when he heard St. Paul 
speaking of the last judgment (Acts 24). From this good 
follows peace of heart and liberty of mind, which the wicked 
have not ; who are ever at war with themselves ; who obey 
their evil inclinations, and are held captive by them. For 
this Diogenes chided Alexander the Great, saying that he 
himself served the gods, and Alexander served his cupidi- 
ties ; by far a worse slavery. The just man loves nothing so 
much that he is not ready to lose it ; the wicked fears noth- 
ing so much that he is not ready to embrace and follow. 

VI. He gave them fame and esteem before all peoples ; 
also authority and terror with the races (Deut. 2 ; Jos. 2, 
9, 11). Balaam, who was called to curse them, could only 
bless them. (( How beautiful are thy tabernacles, Jacob, 
and thy tents, Israel ! " As woody valleys, as gardens 
irrigated near thy streams, and tabernacles which the Lord 
has placed as cedars near the waters. In the same way, 
God procures for his servants, if not suddenly, at least by 
degrees, the good esteem and the odor of a good name, and 
even terror with the wicked, so that they are unwilling, 

LifC. 



100 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT. 

if they wished to be honored, and are forced to be made 
great of. The just are, as Balaam says, " like cedars near 
the waters," always green and decked with leaves ; that is, 
preserving their reputation, as David also says : i( He shall 
live like a tree that is planted near running waters, which 
shall bring forth its fruit in due season ; and his leaf shall 
not fall off, and all whatsoever he shall do shall prosper " 
(Ps. 1). They are feared by the wicked as Moses was feared 
by Pharao, because he was a great man in the land of Egypt 
and among its people (Exod. 11). John the Baptist was 
feared by Herod (Mark 6) ; Jacob by the Ohanaans (Gen. 35). 
So that God makes those who fear him terrible to all. The 
wicked are like the dust which the wind drives from the face 
of the earth — they do not preserve their foliage — an honor- 
able fame ; but at length lost by their vices they become the 
ridicule of men ; and the wind of evil rumor robs them of 
honor and scatters their leaves to the earth and so they be- 
come dust. The dust is caught up by the wind, and flies 
through the air for awhile, but soon falls to earth and be- 
comes mud, to be trampled on by the feet of men. "The 
glory of the sinner is dung and worms : to-day he is lifted 
up, and to-morrow he shall not be found, because he is 
returned into his earth " (1 Maccab. 2 : 62, 63). 

VII. He strengthened them by the hope of the promised 
land ; for when they were not far off, he showed them the 
fruits of it, from which they could know his goodness, espe- 
cially by that great bunch of grapes. So the just are ani- 
mated by and rejoice in the hope by which, as by a ring, they 
see and judge the goods promised them in heaven. Hence, 
in all their necessities, they comfort and strengthen them- 
selves, as an anchor a ship. "Who have fled for refuge to 
hold fast the hope set before us. "Which we have as an 
anchor of the soul, sure and firm " (Heb. 6 : 18, 19). As an 
anchor holds and preserves unharmed the ship in the raging 
waves, so hope holds firm the soul in the midst of the agita- 
tions of this world. Only when the anchor is in the depths 
of the sea, is it of avail ; so hope only in the highest heaven. 
God shows to his elect very often some signs of predestina- 
tion, by which they are encouraged and stimulated to progress 
in virtue. Sometimes he gives them a tasto of eternal hap- 
piness. Finally, the just would not exchange this hope for 
all the wealth of the world. Hence Job, 19, joyfully exclaims: 
" This my hope is laid up in my bosom." The wicked have 



PREROGATIVES OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 101 

not this anchor. " For the hope of the wicked is as dust, 
which is blown away with the wind, and as a thin froth 
which is dispersed by the storm, and a smoke, that is scat- 
tered abroad by the wind" (Wisdom 5). 

VIII. He gave them a most happy and most joyful entry 
into Palestine, while he led them on dry land through the 
Jordan ; such a joyous spectacle that David (Ps. 113) says : 
" The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the 
lambs of the flock." The mountains and hills laughed at the 
sea and Jordan, for he adds : " What ailed thee, sea, that 
thou didst flee : and thou, Jordan, that thou wast turned 
back ?" Snch will be the joyful exit of the just from this 
life. They will enter Jordan, the river of judgment, without 
fear ; they shall laugh at death saying with the Apostle : " O 
grave, where is thy victory : death, where is thy sting ? " 



PASSION SUNDAY. 



MOTIVES FOR CONTRITION FOR THOSE WHO ARE AFFLICTED 

WITH SIN. 



I. God convinces the sinner. II. Christ convinces the sinner. 
III. His neighbor convinces the sinner. IV. All creatures con- 
vince the sinner. 

" Which of you shall convince me of sin ? " (Jno. 8 : 46;. 

In the forty-fourth chapter of Genesis we read that, after 
Joseph had filled with corn the sacks of his brethren, he 
ordered his steward to place his silver cup in the month of 
Benjamin's sack and when they were on their journey to 
pursue them and accuse them of having stolen the cup. He 
did so and they became indignant. " They speedily took 
down their sacks to the ground, and every man opened his 
sack." When the cup was found in Benjamin's sack, "they 
rent their garments, and, loading their asses again, returned 
into the town." Who cannot readily imagine the fear that 
filled their souls ? But, while they, though innocent, acknowl- 
edged their fault and prostrated themselves before Joseph, 
they were most kindly received by him. It seems to me that 
at this time our true Joseph, Christ the Saviour, does the 
same thing, not because he accuses us of a feigned theft, but 
because he very well knows that we carry thefts of sin — the 
sacks of our consciences. Wherefore he himself, especially 
at this time to restore us to his friendship, sends his stewards 
of the Church, the priests, to examine our sacks and to search 
our consciences. Which one of us can say that he has no 
theft in his sack ? Who will dare say with Christ : " Which 
of you shall convince me of sin ? " Immediately John will 
accuse us when he says : " If we say that we have no sin, 

102 



MOTIVES FOR CONTRITION. 103 

we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 Epist. 
1 : 8). It remains, therefore, for us with Joseph's brethren 
to rend not only our garments but our hearts, as Joel says : 
" Eend your hearts and not your garments " (2 : 13). Let us 
rend them by true contrition and compunction of heart, and 
with this contrition let us return to our Saviour by oral con- 
fession that we may merit to receive from him the much 
coveted friendship. But, as many like those brethren will 
not acknowledge their faults, I shall accuse them that they 
may understand what a grave and deplorable thing sin is. 

I. God accuses you against whom you have especially 
sinned, whose glory and regal crown you have stolen and to 
whom in consequence you have done the greatest injury. 
You ask how you have done this ? Listen. Have you not 
done it when contrary to the express will and command of 
God you have adhered to creatures and worshiped them 
above all else, you have preferred them to God and placed 
them on his throne ; have you not by this driven God, your 
legitimate King, from his throne, while you rebelled against 
him and acted in direct opposition to his will ? For : " Is 
not he thy father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee 
and created thee?" (Dent. 32:6). How would you feel, 
if unknowingly you had killed your father and afterwards 
found that it was he ? Oh, if we only had eyes to see who 
he is against whom we have sinned ! We knowingly, will- 
ingly and with malice have offended God our Father, who is 
our greatest benefactor. How do we live, move and have 
our being unless from him ? Are these not continuous ben- 
efits of God : the earth which nourishes us, the air which we 
breathe, the bread and water which sustain us, the sun which 
illumines us, the fire which warms us ? " And if these 
things be little, I shall add far greater things unto thee," as 
Nathan said to David (2 Kings 12:8). And you will not 
repent of having offended such a benefactor ? Out on you, 
and go to the lions ! John Osorius narrates that in Spain a 
certain lion was very fond of his keeper and lovingly ad- 
mitted him to his cage. One day when the keeper appeared 
in a strange garb the lion, not recognizing him, attacked him 
and tore him to pieces. At length, perceiving that it was 
his keeper he had killed, the lion became inconsolable and 
refused all kinds of food. What shall we say to this ? The 
lion knows and grieves for having offended his keeper ; and 
man will not grieve for having offended his preserver ? 



104: PASSION SUNDAY. 

blind and miserable mortals, if you did not know when yon 
sinned ; behold now and contemplate him. Is it not he who 
nourishes you and clothes you, enriches you, makes you 
rulers of all creatures, and gives you angels for guardians ? 
You have broken his laws, you have burst his bonds ; you 
have stolen his glory and given it to Mammon and Bacchus. 
" Know thou and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for 
thee, to have left the Lord thy God " (Jer. 2 : 19). More 
bitter indeed than to have been left by God (if however you 
love God). For who will doubt that it is more bitter for the 
lover to have offended the beloved than to have been offended 
by him ? St. Paul said he was ready to become an anathema 
for his brethren, to be separated from them ; but he never 
was ready to desert Christ, nor cease to be loved by him. 
" Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ ? . . . 
Neither death, nor life, nor angels, etc. (Eom. 8 : 35, 38). 

II. Christ accuses you ; for, sinner, you have stolen his 
cup, the merit of his passion, which he himself called his 
chalice. Christ would not listen to Peter, who with drawn 
sword wished to prevent him from undergoing his passion. 
" The chalice which my Father hath given me, shall I not 
drink it ?" (John 18 : 11). More keenly will Christ feel it, 
if after having drained that chalice on the cross he finds that 
his blood was shed in vain. It is a greater injury to steal 
from one a thing already bought than a thing yet to be paid 
for. Eecount, sinner, what Christ spent for you and for 
me, what he did and what he suffered ; and see if you have 
not reason to deplore your prodigality. Did he not for our 
sakes descend from heaven ? did he not clothe himself with 
our frailty ? did he not seek our salvation in many journeys ? 
did he not preach and show us the way to heaven ? did he 
not suffer all kinds of torments, crucifixion and finally death 
itself ? and you despise and make light of all these, and do 
not weep over your madness ? If two brothers were held cap- 
tives by the Turks with the understanding that within a 
certain time they would be put to death unless a large ransom 
were paid for them, and their father hearing this should 
travel near and far begging the money and then bring it them 
to obtain their freedom ; if those captives should begin to 
indulge in revelry and spend the money with the Turks, their 
enemy, until there was nothing left for their ransom, would 
not this be an enormous crime ? would it not be the basest 
kind of ingratitude to so good a father ? "When their day of 



MOTIVES FOR CONTRITION. 105 

death was drawing near should they not with the prodigal 
son enter into themselves and bitterly bewail their ingrati- 
tude and folly ? What else did Christ do for thirty-three 
years but collect the price of our redemption ? How many 
calumnies, injuries, insults and torments did he suffer for 
our sakes Y And what do sinners do ? They indulge in for- 
bidden pleasures, squander the price of redemption, nay, even 
cast it away. " But they have thought to cast away my 
price : I ran in thirst" (Ps. 61 : 5). Enter into yourselves 
then, sinners, and see what and how much you have 
lost, what kind of father you have offended. Say to your- 
selves : Was I baptized in vain ? confirmed in vain ? did I 
confess in vain ? are all those things which Christ did, said 
and suffered of no benefit to me ? am I to remain a captive 
of the devil ? Alas, what have I done ? But this is not 
enough for many sinners. They repeatedly by the commis- 
sion of new sins crucify Christ. " They have added to the 
grief of my wounds " (Ps. 68 : 27). unheard of ingrati- 
tude ! " Who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and 
hath esteemed the blood of the testament unclean " 
(Heb. 10 : 29). " Crucifying to themselves the Son of God, 
and making a mockery of him" (Heb. 6 : 6). They act as 
the soldiers did on Calvary when they rudely stripped Christ 
of his garment, thus re-opening his wounds and adding new 
torture. Alexander the Great in one of his drunken revels 
transfixed with a spear his deliverer, Clytus, who had cut off 
the hand Ehosacer, striving to slay his master. Becoming 
sober and seeing the body of Clytus, he was so overcome with 
grief as to wish to kill himself with the same spear. Pre- 
vented from doing this, he shut himself up for three days, 
refusing all food and wishing to starve to death. Infinitely 
more do we owe to Christ, who restrained the sword of an 
angry God about to slay us, and who by his merits returned 
it to its scabbard. How, therefore, does the sinner feel who 
remembers too late that he has afflicted his preserver, and, as 
far as he could, has slain him ? 

III. Your neighbor accuses you, whom you have afflicted 
with many injuries and from whom in a manner you have 
stolen a cup. First, by doing him bodily injury. Examine 
your conscience and it will tell you. Some by chance poor 
in the goods of this world I have defrauded ; by strength or 
fraud I have extorted from them what they did not owe me ; 
to other poor ones seeking my aid I not only have given 



106 PASSION SUNDAY. 

nothing when I could but have added to their affliction by 
opprobrium and calumny ; the good name and esteem of 
others I have striven to lessen and to render them hateful 
and despicable before God and man. Secondly, in the goods 
of the soul. How often by my crimes have I provoked others 
to sin ? How often was I a stone of offense and a rock of 
scandal to others, when it would have been better for me, 
with a stone about my neck, to be cast into the sea ? How 
often were my parents, children, brothers or neighbors pun- 
ished for my sins ? for often many are punished for the sins 
of one. And what is greatest of all is that perhaps even 
now some are in hell, whose damnation I was the cause of or 
whom, at least, I helped to be damned. How often have I 
seen some one rushing headlong to hell whom I might have 
saved by good advice ? what should be my feelings if I were 
to understand that even one was burning in hell on my ac- 
count ? Could I easily expiate that sin ? Judas, having be- 
trayed Christ and seeing him condemned, was struck with 
remorse, returned the thirty pieces of silver and went and 
hanged himself. So great did he regard his sin, and what 
kind of condemnation was it ? To a temporal death which 
Christ freely invited ; and yet his traitor despaired on ac- 
count of his crime. What do you say who by your bad ex- 
ample, teaching and deceit have betrayed not one, but many, 
to eternal death ? Will any one, on your account, be pun- 
ished in hell fire for all eternity ? Have you caused any evil 
that can never be repaired for all eternity ? Will you go to 
heaven, who have cast another into hell ? Do you not fear 
for having been the cause of so many suffering in Purgatory ? 
How many parents cry out from that fire against their chil- 
dren, through whose fault they are there ? how many chil- 
dren against parents ? Are you not that wicked servant, 
who, unwilling to have pity on his fellow-servant, choked 
him ? While you have despoiled your brother of his goods ; 
or persecuted him with hatred and envy ; or led him into sin, 
in so much have you choked him and sent him to hell. 

IV. All creatures accuse you, from whom you in a man- 
ner steal the silver cup, that is, that order and natural in- 
clination, which they have to serve their Creator " For all 
things serve thee" (Ps. 118 : 91). When you withdraw them 
from their Creator and force them to serve you contrary to 
the will of their legitimate Lord ; such your intellect, 
strength, form, wealth, dignities, the mixed elements, the 



MOTIVES FOR CONTRITION. 107 

stars, all creatures. " For the creature was made subject to 
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him that made it sub- 
ject, in hope ; because the creature, also, itself shall be de- 
livered from the servitude of corruption into the liberty of 
the glory of the children of God. For we know that every 
creature groaneth, and is in labor even till now" (Rom. 
8 : 20-22). Therefore creatures groan because, unwilling, 
they are subject to the sinner : why not rather the sinner 
groan, who brings such misery on harmless creatures ? By 
his rebellion against God he causes for himself and others 
storms, wars, plagues, etc. Are not these miseries sadly de- 
plored by all ? Much more so should sins, the cause of those, 
be deplored. Let us therefore open the sacks of our con- 
sciences and behold the thefts we have committed against 
God, Christ, our neighbor and all creatures, that we may 
rend and crush our hearts. David opened his sack and 
watered his couch with his tears. The Publican opened his 
sack and struck his breast, nor did he dare to raise his eyes 
to heaven. Magdalene opened her sack and she washed the 
feet of Christ with her tears and dried them with her hair. 
Peter opened his sack and going out he wept bitterly. And 
so it shall finally happen that after our error is known by the 
heavenly Joseph, Christ, we shall be admitted to his most 
loving embrace. 



PALM SUNDAY. 

THE PKOXIMATE PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION. 



I. Cleanness of heart. II. Spiritual hunger. III. Reverence. IV. 
Humility. V. Thanksgiving. 

" Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord " (Matt. 21 : 9). 

When I behold the triumphal pomp of Christ in to-day's 
Gospel, I seem to see the same Christ the Lord coming to us 
from heaven in the Holy Eucharist. Everywhere I see the 
profoundest humility joined with the highest glory. The 
profoundest humility of Christ appears when seated on an 
ass he descends from Mount Olivet to Jerusalem ; his highest 
glory appears while the multitude strew the way with their 
garments and palm branches, crying out : " Hosanna to the 
Son of David." What emperor ever triumphed on an ass ? 
who was ever received with such honor ? Now let us see 
Christ coming in the Eucharist. Does he not there descend 
from heaven to us on earth, hiding under the small species 
of the Sacrament, conspicuous with no external splendor ? 
And yet however before him in the Eucharist, Kings and 
Popes with the universal Church prostrate themselves. Most 
fittingly therefore while the Holy Eucharist is being con- 
secrated and elevated that same hymn is sung which the 
multitude sang in his former triumph : "Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord : Hosanna in the highest." 
Since at this time the same victor enters our hearts in Holy 
Communion ; it remains for us to see with what reason, what 
honor, we receive him. This to-day's multitude shall teach us. 

L They divested themselves of their garments and spread 

108 



PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION. 109 

them in the way by which he was to pass lest he should be 
soiled with filth and mud. What else does this mean, unless 
that we should cleanse our heart, in which we are to receive 
the Lord, from all stain not only of mortal sins (which is 
absolutely necessary) but, as far as we can, of venial also ; 
likewise of all inordinate affection to the former sins, sen- 
sual desires and secular thoughts ; so that we may not only 
show the honor due our heavenly guest but that we may also 
merit to receive from him the celestial reward for entertaining 
him. For since he loves purity in the highest degree, the 
purer we are the more worthy shall we be of such a guest 
and of the grace he brings with him. Let us hear St. 
Augustine : " I ask you, brethren, is there any one who 
would place his garment in a filthy chest ? And if a pre- 
cious garment is not placed in such a chest, how is it that 
the Eucharist is received into the soul, foul with the filth of 
sins ?" What did God wish to indicate when he ordered 
the loaves of propitiation to be made of the whitest flour, to 
be placed on the purest of tables and the most fragrant in- 
cense to be burnt before them ? Was it not because those 
loaves were a type of the Eucharist, as Sts. Jerome, Cyril and 
Damascene declare ? " Thou shalt set over against the table 
the candlestick" (Exod. 26 : 35). The lights were to be of 
the purest oil and the candlestick the cleanest. Should he 
not be the purest and free from all stain who wishes to place 
that heavenly bread in his heart ? Why was it that the 
Manna fell only in the early morning while the earth was 
covered, as it were, with a white cloth ? Moreover, he should 
be pure who wishes to be intimately joined to the most pure 
Son of the Virgin. Note that after Christ had instituted the 
Eucharist he chose clean receptacles for his body. The dining- 
room in which the Eucharist was instituted was furnished. 
The winding-sheet was clean ; the sepulcher was new, and 
no one had been placed in it before. What is the mystery in 
all this ? Christ indicated that after that time he wished 
to dwell among faithful friends who would receive him with 
honor and in a pure heart. Let it be enough for us to know 
that that immaculate Lamb was born in a stable, nourished 
in a poor dwelling, clothed in poor garments ; that he often 
slept on the hard ground, that he was thrown into a foul 
prison, that he was crucified on Calvary ; now is the time to 
receive him in a more magnificent place ; such is the soul 
pure and free from all contagion of sin. Let there be no one 



HO PALM SUNDAY. 

who will not cast aside his garment, the old man and the de- 
sires of the flesh. 

II. And they went forth to meet him. Those who anx- 
iously expect a friend are accustomed to go to meet him. 
This we shall do, if with great desire and spiritual hunger 
we approach Christ's banquet ; for by this we shall show our 
great love for him and shall dine with him with greater 
pleasure and profit. But how shall we excite this hunger, 
this desire in ourselves ? Surely if we consider who and how 
great Christ is who comes to us and how much we need his 
presence. The Samaritan woman, when she knew Christ 
and tasted a little of the living water, leaving the well, ran 
to the city and urged all to go and see him. But the same 
Lord comes to us in the Eucharist bringing with him 
living water flowing to life eternal. Oh, if you knew the 
gift of God and who it is that comes to us, you would run to 
the city of your heart and exhort all your powers to go and 
meet your Lord. With what desire does a poor, desolate 
spouse await her rich beloved one returning with precious 
gifts from a far off country ! But your soul is such a miser- 
able and deserted spouse when deprived of Christ. Will she 
not therefore rejoice when she learns the beloved one is com- 
ing ? We know that Christ with the greatest desire pre- 
pared the table of the Eucharist for us : " With desire I 
have desired to eat this pasch with you " (Luke 22 : 15). 
Let us not be slower to receive than he was to give. Let us 
consider on the one hand the diseases and miseries of our 
souls, on the other the excellency and efficacy of the medicine 
which Christ gives us in Holy Communion. The Eucharist 
is a kind of hospital where all the diseases can be healed ; 
the deaf will hear : he thou opened ; the lame : walk ; the 
blind : heboid ; the lepers : he cleansed ; the dead : rise, if, 
however, we frequently and in the proper spirit approach it. 
The Lord erected it at the greatest expense, namely, his pre- 
cious blood. Will he not be offended if we though afflicted 
do not frequent it, or unwillingly approach it ? 

III. " And they cut boughs from the trees, and strewed 
them in the way," a mark of veneration lest he should walk 
on the bare earth. We also shall do this if with fear and 
reverence we approach Holy Communion. That consists, 
first, in a modest composition of the body ; if before Christ 
we fall on our knees, cast our eyes down and remain in a 
position of humble adoration. For thus the boughs of trees, 



PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION. HI 

that is, the pride of man, we shall cut down and strew it be- 
fore Christ, thus we shall decorate the earth with the leaves 
of our body. Kings and queens took off their crowns and 
prostrated themselves in the presence of the Holy Eucharist. 
Was it wonderful that they should do so before the King of 
heaven and earth ? The lowest angel in heaven is by far 
nobler than all the kings of earth. " And one of the Sera- 
phim flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he 
had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my 
mouth " (Isaias 6 : 6, 7). Surely not because he would burn 
his hand (flesh only can be burnt, not spirit), but because that 
live coal was a type of the Eucharist as St. John Damascene 
when he says : " Coal is not simple wood, but united to fire ; 
so the bread of Communion is not simple bread, but united 
to the divinity. " Since, therefore, one of the highest angels 
treated with such reverence a type and shadow of the Eu- 
charist, consider what honor should be shown to the Eu- 
charist itself. 

Secondly, it consists in a reverential fear lest perchance 
anything should be found in us which would offend the 
eyes of the divine majesty. For we know that Oza sud- 
denly fell dead because he had touched the Ark irreverently, 
although his intention was good, namely, of supporting it, 
" because the oxen kicked and made it lean aside " (2 Kings 
6 : 6). We know that God slew the Bethsamites by the thou- 
sand because they had looked on this same ark with curiosity 
(1 Kings 6 : 19). Besides, the high priest groaning and 
with a heavy heart was accustomed to enter the Holy of 
holies, fearing lest, on account of some hidden sin, he might 
be killed by God. In the same manner our priests, about to 
approach the altar, pray : ( ' Take away from us, we beseech 
thee, Lord, all our iniquities ; that with pure minds we may 
merit to enter into the Holy of holies/ 7 All these show us 
with what fear and reverence it behooves us to appear in the 
presence of Christ our Lord. 

IV. The whole city was moved at the coming of Christ, 
saying : Who is this ? This shall be the case with us if we 
consider the majesty of the coming Lord and our own lowli- 
ness. For who is he that comes ? He it is before whom 
"the pillars of heaven tremble" (Job 26 : 11). "Whom 
the morning stars praised together and whose beauty the sun 
and moon admire " (Job 38). " For the whole world before 
thee is as the least grain of the balance, and as a drop of the 



112 PALM SUNDAY. 

morning dew " (Wisdom 11 : 23). And who are we ? We are 
a shadow, dust, nothing. Will we not therefore exclaim 
with the humble Francis : " My God and my all, who art 
thou, and who am I ? And with the humble Baptist al- 
though the greatest among those born of woman : " And you 
come to me ? I need to come to you." And with the 
humble Miphiboseth who when he heard from David : 
" Thou shalt eat bread at my table always," said : Who 
am I thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a dead 
dog as I am ? " (2 Kings 9 : 7, 8). How much greater is 
our Lord than his servant David ? how much more precious 
than his table ? Let us imitate St. Jerome who, when about 
to receive the Eucharist for the last time, ordered that he 
should be taken from his bed and placed on the ground ; 
then kneeling erect, he struck his breast several times, ex- 
claiming : " Thou art my Lord and my God." It is related 
that even Henry VIII. , King of England, though cut off 
from the Church, had the greatest affection and reverence 
for the Holy Eucharist, for shortly before his death he said : 
" If I were to cast myself not only on the earth but even 
under the earth I would not seem to give sufficient honor to 
this Holy Sacrament." 

V. They sounded the praises of Christ and cried out : 
" Hosanna ; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord." In like manner after Holy Communion, thanks 
should be given to God for this heavenly benefit. We said 
before that the High Priest of the Hebrews was accustomed 
to enter the sanctuary (only once a year) in fear and trem- 
bling ; after the service he ordered a banquet to be given his 
friends in thanksgiving, for his safe return from the Holy 
of holies. Let us order a like banquet after Communion and 
let us invite all the powers of our body and soul to give 
thanks to God and say with St. Monica : " My heart and my 
flesh have rejoiced in the living God." And first let us in- 
vite our intellect by acknowledging and pondering the gift 
received, and saying with the Israelites : What is this ? 
what kind of manna ? what kind of bread ? whence has it 
been sent to us ? by whose hands was it made ? Or with 
Daniel : " Thou hast remembered me, God ; who hast fed 
me with milk, with a wonderful gruel." Or with Paul the 
Hermit: "Behold, the Lord has sent us a dinner, truly 
pious, truly merciful ! What thanks would we give, if like 
those, we received bread from heaven, from an angel, from a 



PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION. 113 

crow ? But the eucharistic bread is from heaven and from 
God, nay more, it is God himself. Let us then invite our 
memory : let us be mindful of this great benefit ; let us 
remember that manna ; let us inscribe on our soul : " I am 
the dwelling-place of the great God inaccessible to the world, 
the flesh and the devil." Let us invite our will by offering 
ourselves and all we have to the will and direction of God, so 
that for the future he may rule supreme in us. Let us in- 
vite the powers of the body and our senses that they may all 
serve Christ and admit nothing that might be offensive to 
our guest. What would you say if your friend, whom you 
traveled a long way to see, should receive you kindly indeed, 
but shortly after, going out the back door, leave you alone, or 
what is worse still should turn you out of his house ? The 
Jews certainly did this who in the morning with loud 
acclaim received Christ ; in the evening deserted him and 
after five days put him to death. What benefit was it to 
them to have led him through the city with all honor and 
pomp, since afterwards they crucified him on Calvary ? What 
benefit was it to them to have cut boughs from trees and 
spread them beneath him, since afterwards they gathered 
thorns and a reed with which they tortured and mocked 
him ? What benefit was it to them to have asked : " Who 
is this?" since afterwards they cried out: " He is worthy 
of death ? " Therefore through love for that poor king, 
who during these days will come to you in the humble 
species of eucharistic bread, I beg of you not to imitate Juda 
nor the versatile Jews ; but rather the disciples and innocent 
children of Christ. 
8 



EASTER SUNDAY. 

CHRIST THE LION IN HIS RESURRECTION. 



I. With regard to the sleep of death. II. With regard to his rais- 
ing himself. III. With regard to the glory of the rising one. 
IV. With regard to his power. V. With regard to his liberality. 

" Behold the lion of the tribe of Juda hath prevailed " (Apoc. 5 : 5). 

Although those four animals seen by Ezechiel — the man, 
the calf, the lion and the eagle — are commonly held to 
represent the four Evangelists ; nevertheless St. Jerome and 
other commentators teach that they are figures of Christ the 
Lord. Because by man his humanity is shown ; by the calf 
his priesthood ; by the lion his kingdom, and by the eagle 
his divinity. Because Christ in his incarnation was man ; in 
his passion the calf, as it is the animal of sacrifice ; " for 
Christ our pasch is sacrificed " (1 Cor. 5 : 7) ; in his ascension 
the eagle, that flies highest of all ; in his resurrection truly 
the lion ; this the prophecy of Jacob to Juda intimates, for 
Christ was of the tribe of Juda : " Juda is a lion's whelp ; 
to the prey, my son, thou art gone up : resting, thou hast 
couched as a lion, and as a lioness who shall rouse him ? " 
(Gen. 49 : 9). Lion because he is king of heaven and earth ; 
whelp of the lion because, according to divine nature, he is 
of the same divinity and majesty with the Father ; according 
to human nature, he is less than the Father. Let us see by 
what reason Christ is a lion, especially in his resurrection. 

I. With regard to the sleep preceding death. " Resting, 
thou hast couched as a lion." The lion, having broken the 
bones of his prey, lies down before he begins to eat ; so also 
on the cross, Christ, having bowed his head, gave up the 
ghost ; that is, bowing down he invited death to come, which 
otherwise would not dare to approach, according to Anastasius 

114 



CHRIST THE LION IN HIS RESURRECTION. H5 

Synaita. St. Gregory says: <l "Willingly he sought death." 
" I have slept and have taken my rest" (Ps. 3). And this 
is the glory of our lion who willingly and freely died. He 
ate the prey when he conquered hell and led our forefathers 
from Limbo. 

Secondly, the lion sleeps in an open place ; not in caves, 
like other wild animals, because he is fearless of all danger. 
So Christ laid him down to sleep in a most open place on 
Mount Calvary, although surrounded by his bitterest ene- 
mies ; and was buried near by, fearing nothing from the 
Jews, because he knew they could not place any obstacle to 
his resurrection. They guarded the tomb with soldiers, and 
sealed the stone ; and yet he slept securely, because his leonine 
power prepared the way for his resurrection ; like Sampson 
who, bound by the Philistines, carried away the gates that 
in vain shut him in. "I have slept and have taken my rest, 
and I have risen up because the Lord hath protected me ; I 
will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me" (Ps. 
3) . St. Athanasius says : " Miserable and unhappy judge ; 
who loosed the chains of death, he will not break the seal of 
the tomb ; who conquered hell, he will fear the guard of the 
monument ! Strengthen the sepulcher, mark the stone, 
place soldiers around it ! You are doing a noble work ; you 
are placing spectators and witnesses of the resurrection ; you 
are preparing preaching ministers of my miracles." 

Thirdly, even when the lion sleeps, he is terrible ; so Christ 
was terrible to the Jews. Who ever saw a dead man wage 
war on those who surrounded his tomb, and send fear into 
them ? Great was the fear that the Infant Jesus lying in a 
manger aroused in Herod, who thought he was to lose his 
kingdom ; but still greater when lying in the tomb, he de- 
prived death and the demons of their power. 

Fourthly, the lion sleeps with his eyes open. So Christ, in 
death, had the eye of his divinity open ; for there remained 
the union of the Word with soul and body, though they 
were separated. Hence, he calls his death a sleep only — "1 
have slept and have taken my rest." Christ, in his death, 
knew what he would do, how long he would sleep and when 
he would rise. 

II. His most powerful raising of himself from the dead. 
The lion is most powerful. Christ, by the power of his di- 
vinity, conquered all, even death itself. It is a fact related by 
Rufinus, Eucherius and others, that when the lion's young 



116 EASTER SUNDAY. 

is whelped, he sleeps for three days and nights and then at 
the roar of the parent awakes from his trembling couch. 
So Christ, after he had slept for three days in the tomb, 
at the voice or power of his Father, arose not without a 
great commotion of the earth. But that same power was 
Christ's, for he possessed it with the Father, and by it he 
I raised himself. Hence Jacob, in his blessing of Juda, speak- 
ing of Christ, says : " Besting, thou hast couched as a lion, 
who will arouse him ? " That is, he does not need any one 
to arouse him — for he himself as God has aroused him. St. 
Ambrose says : " Who else will arouse him but himself by 
his own power and that of the Father ? I see him born by 
his own will, dying by his own will. What other aid does 
he need to rise from the dead ? He himself is the author of 
his resurrection." St. Augustine says: "No man raised 
him as did some of the prophets or he himself did others ; 
but as though from sleep he rose." 

St. Bernard says : ' ' Who else ever raised himself from the 
dead ? Eliseus, the prophet, raised one, but not himself. 
How many years now is he in the tomb ? We say of others : 
they have been raised from the dead ; of Christ : he arose 
from the dead. So indeed ' the lion of the tribe of Juda 
has conquered.' " 

III. dory and nobility of the resurrection. According to 
Pliny, the nobility of the lion appears when his neck is 
covered by his magnificent mane. So the majesty of Christ 
shone especially in his resurrection ; for then, clothed in the 
garments of immortality, he showed himself the noble "lion 
of the tribe of Juda." When Sampson's hair was restored 
to him he was more powerful and more beautiful than before. 

And truly was the prophecy of Aggaeus fulfilled : " Great 
shall be the glory of this last house, more than of the first, 
saith the Lord of hosts." For Christ rebuilt in three days 
the temple of his body destroyed by the Jews, and adorned it 
with a glory far surpassing what it formerly had. Great was 
the glory of Christ in Bethlehem when he was adored by 
angels and kings of the East ; but there also were poverty, 
contempt and infirmity, because an infant he was lying in a 
manger ; but in his resurrection there was glory without con- 
tempt, power without weakness, riches without alloy. Great 
was his glory on Tabor, but there he showed only one of the 
gifts of glorified bodies — brightness ; he did not show agility, 
subtility, impassibility. Then that brightness was visible for 



CHRIST THE LION IN HIS RESURRECTION. H7 

a short time only. Finally, there his words were of death. 
In the resurrection, Christ received all the gifts and retained 
them constantly. Great was his glory when he walked on 
the waters, commanded the winds and waves ; when he cast 
out devils, cured the sick, multiplied the loaves and fishes ; 
raised the dead ; but all these he did in the form of a serv- 
ant : — he hungered and thirsted and was weary. Greater 
was the glory of his second house, when he rose from the 
dead and ascended glorious to heaven. Great was his glory 
on the cross, when man and the elements bore testimony to 
his divinity ; but there was grief, ignominy, deformity, death. 
None of these in the resurrection. Hence Aggaeus says : 
"In this place I will give peace." The glory of the first 
temple was not without poverty, contempt, weakness, fear, 
labor, grief, etc.; but the glory of the second temple ex- 
cludes all these. How great is this glory, this happiness, to 
live without fear of death, without danger, without defect ! 
To have a body more splendid than the sun, stronger than 
iron, more agile than the wind ; entirely impassible and 
spiritual, that is, entirely subject to the spirit. Compare 
the glory of the resurrection with the ignominy of the cross. 
What a difference ! Behold him there patient, covered with 
blood, pierced with wounds, between two thieves. In the 
resurrection, behold him impassible, glittering like gold, 
agile, subtle, attended by angels and patriarchs and prophets. 
Truly the winter is passed, and the flowers have appeared in 
our land. Truly now Christ could say with Joseph exalted : — 
" God has made me forget all my labors." Such is the happy 
end of a just life. They are tried here like Sampson and 
deprived of strength ; but wait till the hairs grow, wait for 
the day of resurrection ; then they shall conquer and shall 
say : " God has made me forget all my labors." 

IV. As to power over earth — for the lion is king of animals 
and subjects them to his will by his roar, even by his look. 
So Christ after his resurrection, by the appearance of an 
angel, by an earthquake shock, terrified the guards ; then 
by the preaching of his apostles as by the roaring of a lion ; 
by the fame and faith of his resurrection, he astonished the 
nations, held them captive and drew them to his worship ; 
and this is what Habacuc had foretold : "Horns are in his 
hands, there is his strength hid. Death shall go before his 
feet. He stood and measured the earth. He beheld and 
melted the nations. And the ancient mountains were 



118 EASTER SUNDAY. 

crushed to pieces ; the hills of the world were bowed down 
by the journeys of his eternity." This is as St. Jerome in- 
terprets : The Saviour, standing and beholding all and meas- 
uring the world, scattered the multitude of nations ; and, 
being scattered, the mountains and hills of this world were 
crushed, that is, the princes of this world who before stood 
stiff-necked — crushed by the journeys of his eternity, that is, 
by his resurrection to immortal glory. The Jews were the 
first to be frightened by his voice, but unhappily and with- 
out avail, because they did not profit by it ; but rather 
sought means to hide the glorious resurrection of Christ, by 
bribing the soldier-guards to say that Christ was stolen by 
his disciples while they were asleep. But it otherwise hap- 
pened, for the guards gave testimony of the resurrection. 
Other nations more fortunately listened to this voice and 
became subjects in the kingdom of Christ. But there is a 
great difference between the lion and Christ. The lion terri- 
fies animals to devour them — Christ terrifies people to save 
them and give them life. Wherefore the government of 
this king is not tyrannical, but paternal. Christ does not 
destroy sinners, but rather wishes to make them his friends 
and chosen ones. 

V. Liberality and munificence. The lion, according to 
Solinus, is of such a generous nature, that he leaves^ part of 
his prey to the other animals. So Christ communicates to 
us the prey — glory and immortality — which he has captured, 
to be given in his own time. We have an example of this 
in the honeycomb found by Sampson in the mouth of the 
lion he had 'killed ; "and not only himself ate, but he gave 
to his parents and they did eat" (Judges 14). The lion is 
the dead Christ from whose mouth afterwards came that 
sweetest of honeycombs : "Peace be to you" and " Whose 
sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, etc " ; finally the 
honeycomb of resurrection and glory. Christ after the 
resurrection ate the honeycomb with his disciples, and gave 
the remains to them (Luke 24) ? Tertullian says : "the 
confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead." If 
the heart of the husbandman is filled with hope, when he 
sees the seed, he planted, living and flourishing, and looking 
to a great harvest ; why should not we live in the hope of that 
glory whose seed we have in the resurrection of Christ ? If 
we have risen with Christ, let us put on Christ ; and be con- 
formed to him here that we may live with him hereafter. 



FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

THREEFOLD PEACE. 



I. Peace with God. II. Peace with our neighbor. III. Peace with 
ourselves. 

' Peace be to you " (John 20 : 19). 

The holy patriarch Jacob has pictured to us Christ rising 
in the form of a lion (Gen. 49). This, Ambrose, Augustine, 
Gregory and other Fathers believe Jacob had in mind ; and 
John, in Apoc. 5, confirms this when speaking of the risen 
Christ: "The lion of the tribe of Juda has conquered." 
Who would not expect from this lion, returning to life, a ter- 
rible roar, which would strike fear into all, especially the 
Jews, his bitter enemies, and then his disciples who fled from 
him ? But it is not the roar of the lion that we hear ; but 
the bleating of the lamb proclaiming peace, not war, " Peace 
be to you." We hear the voice of that Dove who, after the 
severe winter of his passion, announces the most joyful 
spring of peace. We saw that dove leaving the Ark and re- 
turning after the deluge of Passion Sunday, bearing in his 
mouth the olive-branch, symbol of peace, to his disciples 
almost distracted at the absence of their master, in that same 
house as though enclosed in the Ark, and who were then 
assured that the waters of the deluge had ceased ; that the 
tempest which overwhelmed Christ had passed ; that grief 
had departed, and on the contrary, the sweetest tranquillity 
had covered the face of the earth. Christ had been afflicted 
with many injuries, not only by the Jews, but also by his dis- 
ciples ; however, he does not come with the roar of a lion, 
nor with the sword in his mouth threatening dire vengeance ; 
but with peace and love — "Peace be to you." He does not 
declare war against his enemies who condemned him to 

119 



120 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

death, and crucified him on the infamous gibbet of the cross ; 
but declares peace, and wishes peace to all ; and that he 
brings to us in many ways. Three times in to-day's gospel, 
Christ repeats that salutation — " Peace be to you ; " and not 
without cause, for a threefold peace is necessary for our salva- 
tion. 

I. The first peace is with God, which Christ, by the merits 
of his passion, established between God and the human race, 
in the shedding of his blood ; and as by sin the human race 
rebelled against God and incurred his anger ; so by the shed- 
ding of blood alone was he to be appeased. This great bene- 
fit is often brought to our minds by the apostle in Ephes. 2, 
Coloss. 1 and 2, 1 Cor. 5. We are reconciled to God through 
the blood of Christ. The rainbow, which God gave as a sign 
of treaty between himself and man, was a type of that peace. 
" The rainbow/' says Lipomanus, (i signifies Christ who is 
the sign of our redemption, given us by God the Father. He 
himself is our peace, our constituted advocate with his 
Father in heaven ; with God the Father when he considers 
the bleeding wounds of his Son ; with us when as suppliants 
in faith we implore his mercy." " I will establish my 
covenant with you " (Gen. 9 : 9). Rupert writes : " What 
kind of a covenant is this which is promised by God ? for 
I will signifies future, and a covenant is not usually made 
without being given and accepted." A covenant indeed is 
often promised but only once entered into, as the Incarna- 
tion or Passion. By such a covenant the enmities existing 
between God and man are destroyed. In the covenant 
spoken of there is an establishment of peace, by reason of 
being given and accepted, while God, with the accepted faith 
of man, gives Christ his Son that we may be saved. Hence, 
the rainbow is called peace. Christ in a measure showed 
this to his disciples when, after proclaiming peace, he showed 
them his hands and feet and the marks of his wounds, as if 
to say : "Do not fear ; behold this rainbow by which peace 
is established between you and God." When Christ was 
born the angels sang : " Glory to God in the highest, and 
peace on earth to men of good will." At that time, peace 
was universal, for the temple of Janus was closed by Augustus, 
which happened only in time of peace, for in time of war it 
was open. At the coming of the eagle, the king of birds, all 
other birds fold their wiugs and rest in peace, not daring to 
fight ; so on the coming from heaven of that divine eagle, 



THREEFOLD PEAC& 121 

Christ our God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the 
kings of earth are silent because he has appeared who is true 
peace, of whom the apostle says : " He is our peace who has 
made both one." Isaias calls him the Prince of peace be- 
cause, coming from heaven, he illumined the earth, quieted 
the perturbed souls of mortals and filled them in a wonder- 
ful manner with the spirit of peace. This peace brought to 
us by Christ was first given to us in Baptism, and is again 
given to us in Penance, when after that peace is violated, 
we are finally received into grace. But this peace brought 
by Christ into the world must be so guarded by us, that in 
the future we must not offend God by sin. Isaias says : 
" And they will convert their swords into plough-shares, and 
their lances into scythes/' What are swords and lances, but 
our senses and members with which as with arms of the devil 
we have fought against God. These, therefore, after recon- 
ciliation must be turned into arms of justice for the cultivat- 
ing the field of our soul and the Church ; so that it may 
serve God with those members with which before we served 
the devil (Rom. 6). 

II. The second peace is with our neighbor, but with a 
threefold difference. The first consists in fraternal charity 
and in the union of souls, according to Ezech. 40, John 13, 
Acts 4, Isaias 32, 40. Hence Christ so of ten recommends 
fraternal charity to us, especially in his sermon at the last 
supper : ' ' My peace I leave you, my peace I give you ; " and 
Mark 9. : "Have peace among yourselves." For the Lord 
knew that we would be unconquerable as long as we preserved 
peace and concord ; so long was the Ark of Noe safe and 
sound, as long as those within were at peace, and all of one 
mind. For if the animals in the Ark fought among them- 
selves or with the men, they would have destroyed both them- 
selves and the Ark. A community or kingdom will stand as 
long as there is harmony ; but it will fall as soon as discord 
creeps in and divides it into parts. For this reason, peace 
was held in high esteem by the nations of the earth ; and 
Tiberius had a temple of peace erected in Rome wherein all 
having hatred should offer sacrifice and become reconciled. 
Not far from this on the Palatine hill, a most magnificent 
temple of peace, the ruins of which may be seen to-day, was 
erected by Vespasian. It is related that Pomponius Atticus, 
sixty-seven years old, at the funeral of his mother, ninety 
years old, boasted that he was never reconciled to her, because 



122 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EAST Eft. 

he had never offended her. If such was the spirit among 
pagans what should be the spirit among Christians ? We 
should preserve peace, not only with our friends and relatives, 
but with strangers and enemies, in fact with all ; peace not 
of nature but of grace ; not of Gentiles but of Christ, if we 
wish to observe the precept of Christ. 

The second consists in religion and its unanimous agree- 
ment. Such was the peace of the first Christians, believing 
and feeling the same thing, and is to-day that of all Catholics, 
(1 Cor. 1). Unless the Ark were made water-tight, it could 
not have withstood the force of the deluge ; nor could the 
Church have withstood the incursions of heretics if it were 
not endowed with this unit}". By means of this unity, it has 
grown to be the most powerful of nations, and is spread over 
the whole earth. Material Eome from a humble hamlet be- 
came the ruler of the world ; but, owing to discord, it has re- 
turned to its pristine lowliness. Spiritual Eome, the Church 
of Eome, from the crib at Bethlehem has become the queen 
of nations, and her empire will stand on account of her unity 
of faith, and because all her members are united in one head. 
There are in the Church different states and different orders 
of Eeligious, but these all agree in faith and charity, all be- 
lieve the same thing. As in a clock there are many wheels, 
some large, some small ; some move quickly, some slowly ; 
all, however, complete their course, and in a wonderful man- 
ner conspire to announce the hours of the day ; so in the 
Church, the orders and states, though they differ among 
themselves with regard to some things, agree in harmony of 
faith. 

III. Peace with man himself and that is twofold. The 
first is found in a tranquil and healthful conscience, although 
it is grieved by the world, the flesh and the devil. That 
victory is sufficient which often consists in patience and con- 
stant toleration of temptations and adversities, rather than 
in the exclusion of them. And this is the peace which the 
apostle so often recommends to us in his Epistles (Eom. 5, 
Philip. 4). He begins all his Epistles to the faithful, sa- 
luting them : t( Grace be with you and peace from God the 
Father," etc. In this way Christ orders all houses to be sa- 
luted (Matt. 10). It is a tranquillity and serenity of mind, 
and the courage of a good conscience (arising not from a 
certitude of divine faith, by which one believes his sins for- 
given i but from conjectures which make a moral certitude 



THREEFOLD PEACE. 123 

that he is constituted in the grace of God) when one, after 
pardon of sin is received in Baptism or Penance, is not 
troubled in mind nor gnawed by the worm of any sin what- 
ever. This indeed is the only good according to St. Tibur- 
tius, who says : " Punishment is of no account to us, where a 
pure conscience is our companion. And in the Apocalypse 
it is said that it surpasses all reason, that is, it cannot be 
understood how great it is. Only he knows it who possesses 
this peace ; it is that hidden manna which no one knows but 
him who receives it (Apoc. 2); or to speak more correctly, 
it is a foretaste of that heavenly manna on which the blessed 
in heaven feed. " The kingdom of God is not meat and 
drink ; but justice, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost " 
(Rom. 14:17); justice, because it is order, symmetry, judg- 
ment and the harmony of the powers in man, such as can be 
had in this life, so that the reason commands, the body obeys 
and the passions are brought into moderation by the ruling of 
virtues ; peace, because it is a serenity and tranquillity of 
conscience unobscured by any cloud of grievous sin ; joy, be- 
cause " a secure mind is like a continual feast " (Prov. 
15 : 15). This kingdom we daily seek in the Lord's prayer, 
that it shall come to us ; for we do not ask that we be brought 
immediately to heaven ; but that Christ, first through his 
grace and the peace of our heart, shall reign in us ; so that 
finally we may reign with him in heaven. Truly this king- 
dom is not found in sinners, for " there is no peace for the 
wicked, saith the Lord" (Isaias 57 : 21). Nor is there any 
justice in them, for "the wicked are like the raging sea," 
because they are constantly agitated by the heat of the pas- 
sions, as it were, by the breath of demons ; they are stimu- 
lated by a perpetual stinging of crime even in the midst of 
pleasures ; in this way Pharao had no rest, at table or in bed, 
from the plagues of gnats and flies. Nor is there joy in 
them ; but uneasiness of mind, fear of judgment and hell, 
yes, even fear of the law of men whom they have treated un- 
justly. The second consists in a complete extirpation of 
vice, and subjugation of the passions, so that they will not 
dare oppose the authority of reason ; so much so that the 
spirit and the flesh shall agree in all things. " Such a 
peace, however, is not to be hoped for in this life," says St. 
Augustine. The peaceful are now engaged in subduing the 
concupiscences of the flesh, so that some time they may come 
into a full enjoyment of peace. This peace, God promises to 



124 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 

the just — "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her all 
ye who love her, for thus saith the Lord : Behold I will bring 
upon her, as it were, a river of peace " (Isaias 66 : 10). There, 
will be days of perpetual sunshine, where no tempest shall 
rage nor billows roar ; here, continual storms and dangers 
beset the mariners of the sea of life. There, the beasts of 
our passions will be entirely subject to us as they were sub- 
ject to Adam in paradise ; here, they cannot be entirely 
tamed ; but subdued only, when they break loose ; they can 
be forced into submission, by the chains of reason and morti- 
fication, lest they inflict the serious wound of sin. It is suf- 
ficient for us to seek this peace in death, as Simeon did : 
"Now dismiss thy servant, Lord, according to thy word in 
peace." St. Cyprian says : i( Then will that peace and tran- 
quil quietude come to the servants of God when, free from 
the turmoils of this life, we seek the haven of eternal securi- 
ty ; when we put off mortality to be clothed with immortal- 
ity." "In peace, in the self-same I will sleep and I will 
rest" (Ps. 49). This is the prayer we offer up for all who die 
in the Lord : " May their souls rest in peace." He who 
would possess this threefold peace must seek it in Christ, the 
Prince of peace. 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

WHAT A GOOD SHEPHEKD CHEIST IS. 



I. He defends his sheep. II. He leads them to good pastures. 
III. He seeks the erring ones. IV. He carries thosft found on 
his shoulders. V. He looks after their health and heals their 
maladies. VI. He gives his life for them. 

" I am the good shepherd " (John 10 : 11). 

It might seem to some that this saying of our Saviour 
smacks of self-praise — as though he were commending him- 
self, when he says : " I am the good shepherd." But 
Eusebius Emisenus destroys this opinion when, in his expo- 
sition of to-day's gospel he says : " That Christ is the shep- 
herd is authority, not self-praise — a bowing down, not an 
exalting of any divinity. But he is not unworthy the name 
shepherd, who is not ashamed to perform the duties of a 
shepherd." "No one is to be despised," says a Eoman 
Emperor, ie if he asserts that he is a good husbandman or a 
good nobleman ; for by this speech he demonstrates to all that 
this humility of mind is to be admired." 

The Son of God from his nature and essence is good, and 
for this reason is the only good ; and in the meantime he 
deigns to call himself a shepherd ; what wonder then if he 
adds good? "For behold," says St. Gregory, " he who not 
from any antecedent gift, but essentially is good, says : ' I 
am the good shepherd/ " In the sacred Scripture, kings 
and princes are often called shepherds to lower their pride ; 
because as St. Jerome says : " The proud name of ruler is 
lessened by the word shepherd." St. Gregory asserts that 
self-praise for us is dangerous, for God it is nothing. " He 
who does not need praise, nor becomes higher nor greater by 
laudatory speech, can safely praise himself." The Greek in- 
terpretation thus refers to the words of Christ : I am that 
good shepherd — as one of whom the prophets foretold — a 
shepherd who was to come some time, who was to feed his 
own sheep and not strange ones. 

125 



126 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

" Behold the Lord God shall come with strength. . . . 
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : he shall gather to- 
gether the lambs with his arm and shall take them up in his 
bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young " 
(Isaias 40). " I will set up one shepherd over them, and he 
shall feed them, even my servant David " (Ezech. 34 : 23) ; 
that is, Christ the son of David, for David was already dead, 
remarks St. Ambrose. Therefore, I understand that Christ 
wished to say that he was the great and good shepherd, the 
head and model of all shepherds, who was foretold in the 
Scripture that he might strengthen the faith of the incred- 
ulous in his mission. For what reason is Christ called the 
good shepherd ? 

I. The good shepherd defends his sheep against wolves, 
dogs and wild beasts, and for this reason he always follows 
them into the pasture to protect them from harm. David 
was such a shepherd, who if wild beasts by chance stole one 
of his flock, pursued them and snatched the prey from their 
jaws and killed them. The same in a higher degree may be 
said of Christ, the prince of shepherds, who protects his 
Church. For as God formerly protected the Synagogue, 
will not Christ for a greater reason protect his Church ? 
" Like as the lion roareth, and the lion's whelp upon the 
prey, and when a multitude of shepherds shall come against 
him, he will not fear at their voice, nor be afraid of their 
multitude : so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight on 
Mount Sion, and upon the hill thereof. As birds flying, so 
will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem" (Isaias 31 :4, 5). 
In the first simile strength is shown ; in the second the piety 
and clemency of divine protection. St. Jerome says : If 
the lion and the whelp of the lion, going about, sees a flock 
of sheep, no shepherd can terrify him, and even a multitude 
of them he despises, being conscious of his own strength ; 
so the Lord will fight on Mount Sion against all his adversa- 
ries. As birds, to defend their young, hover about the nest, 
and if they see a serpent or men or strange birds, forgetful 
of their weakness, they fight to the death giving vent to their 
grief in the shrillest notes, so will the Lord protect and 
save Jerusalem. And so Christ defends his Church with far 
greater zeal than he did formerly the Synagogue. This we 
see in the martyrdom of St. Stephen, when crushed by a 
shower of stones, Christ in all his glory showed himself to 
him, urging and animating him to fight on to victory and 



WHAT A GOOD SHEPHERD CHRIST IS. 127 

eternal glory. Afterwards he defended his little flock at 
Damascus against the wolf Saul on his way to harass the 
faithful and bring back the conquered. Like the screech of 
the bird defending her young was the voice in the heavens : 
" Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? " As the eagle, when 
leaving the nest, always keeps his eye on it to defend it 
against the enemy ; so Christ the Lord always looks with a 
vigilant eye towards that nest, the Church, to guard it against . 
ravenous wolves. The Lord showed this care while yet in the ; 
flesh, when on Mount Olivet the storm was threatening him 
and his disciples ; and as he was about to pray to his Father, 
he was separated from them, not willingly, but by some 
force ; but no farther than a stone's throw, so that he conld 
readily come to their assistance. "We read in Genesis how 
Agar the bondwoman, having cast her boy under one of the 
trees, " went her way, and sat over against him a great way 
off, as far as a bow can carry, for she said : I will not seethe 
boy die ; and sitting over against she lifted up her voice and 
wept" (21 : 16). Much more does Christ love his own than 
even parents love their children. And while his disciples 
were asleep, he was watching and returned often to see 
them. Is he not indeed the good shepherd ? 

II. The good shepherd leads his sheep to rich pastures. 
That Christ would do this was foretold by Ezechiel when, 
speaking of his office and mission, he says: (C 1 will feed 
them in the most fruitful pastures, and their pastures shall 
be in the high mountains of Israel ; there shall they rest on 
the high grass and be fed in fat pastures in the mountains of 
Israel " (34 : 14). "I will feed them in the mountains of 
Israel by the rivers and in all the habitations of the land." 
The pastures on the mountains are the contemplations and 
exercises of anchorites and religious, who repose in them and 
grow fat in spirit, and with great pleasure play as sheep on 
the green grass. The pastures in the valleys by the rivers 
are : first, the preaching of the word of God propounded to 
all. In this the Lord wishes to preserve the industry of all 
good shepherds. Vincentius says : " The good shepherd in 
the heat of summer feeds his sheep, not towards the sun, lest 
their weak heads might be affected, but away from it ; so it 
pleased Christ that his sheep should learn the law from the 
mouth of his priests ; nor should they pry into the sacred 
Scriptures and sacred mysteries, which they do not under- 
stand ; if they did so, it would be at their peril on account 



128 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

of their weakened and obscure intellect. For the Scripture 
is as a strong wine, which must be taken in small quantities, 
and by the strong only, not by children, that is, the unedu- 
cated. It is like a medicine-chest containing many medi- 
cines, some salutary, others harmful, and therefore must not 
be partaken of by all alike. 

Secondly, the pastures are the Sacraments, especially Holy 
Eucharist, of which Isaias foretold in a special manner 
(30 : 23, 24): " The lamb in that day shall feed at large in i 
thy possession : and thy oxen, and the ass-colts that till the 
ground, shall eat mingled provender as it was winnowed on 
the floor ; " that is, corn and wine mixed and well prepared. 
This food of the faithful is the Eucharist, which contains 
that most delicious mixture of the divinity and humanity of 
Christ under the species of bread and wine ; and effects in 
their souls a wonderful mingling with the body of Christ, as 
they are incorporated and converted into him. What mag- 
nanimity of this shepherd ! How great his love for his 
sheep, that he gives them himself for their food ! ' ' Who is the 
shepherd?" asks St. Chrysostom, "that feeds his sheep 
with his own blood ? Only Christ, the Shepherd of shep- 
herds." 

Thirdly, the pastures are the examples of the saints, which 
he provides for us, which he has ordered to be written, and 
which show in their pictures and images, their lives and con- 
versation. Shepherds are accustomed to offer rock-salt to 
their sheep, to whet their appetites and to induce them to 
return to the fold. What else are the saints of whom the 
Lord said : il You are the salt of the earth ? w Who does 
not know of these rocks of salt throughout the universal 
Church, even in our own times ? How many monasteries 
and houses of religious ! Every town and hamlet has its 
pious and learned shepherds, living examples to their flocks. | 

III. The good shepherd does not desert his erring sheep, 
but seeks them through highways and byways. This the 
Lord said of Christ by Ezechiel 34 : 11 : "I myself will 
seek my sheep and will visit them. I will seek that 
which was lost, and that which was driven away, I will bring 
again." He strives by various means to recall his erring 
ones : First, by the still small voice of interior inspirations ; 
by this means God made known his will to Elias, and he is 
accustomed to use the same with those who readily hearken 
to his voice, and who do not wait to be spoken to in tones of 



WHAT A GOOD SHEPHERD CHRIST IS. 129 

thunder. Such was Isaias, who says : " The Lord God hath 
opened my ear, and I do not resist ; I have not gone back ; " 
this referring to Christ, who immediately acquiesced in the 
will, nay, the very sign of the will of his heavenly Father, 
and offered himself for the redemption of the human race, 
even to the death of the cross ; such are the true, genuine 
sheep of Christ, Whose lives conform to that of their shep- 
herd, and who, wishing to serve him, freely allow their ears 
to be bored through at the door of the Lord, as we read in 
Exodus 21. 

Secondly, the good shepherd seeks his erring sheep with 
the shepherd's crook, of which we read in Psalm 22 : " Thy 
rod and thy staff, they have comforted me ; " the former in- 
dicates lighter, the latter graver thought ; and by both the 
sheep are consoled, because by chastisement they return to 
the shepherd ; so that on this account Isaias gives thanks to 
God, saying : "I will give thanks to thee, Lord, for thou 
wast angry with me : thy wrath is turned away, and thou 
hast comforted me " (12 : 1). Then, indeed, is there full 
cause for grief and lamentation when God does not chide the 
erring one, but allows him to continue in his evil ways. 
Isaias 11 says of Christ : " He shall strike the earth with 
the rod of his mouth." Who does not know how gently and 
paternally Christ chides sinners ? When did he ever wound 
or kill one ? Does he not in almost every admonition use 
the words do not — do not do this or that evil ? And if he 
chides, does he not do it to heal ? 

Thirdly, by means of preachers — his sheep-dogs — whom he 
threatens with punishment if they also do not call the erring 
ones to return to the fold. " I myself will come upon the 
shepherds. I will require my flock at their hand, and I will 
cause them to cease from feeding the flocks any more ; 
neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more" 
(Ezech. 34). 

Fourthly, by example, by which he goes before his sheep 
in whatever is difficult. Christ never said to his disciples : 
Go before me — but : " Come after me, and follow me." 
And, again : " Can you drink of the chalice of which I will 
drink ? " Where is the soldier who does not cheerfully fol- 
low his leader ? Certainly the sheep follow their shepherd 
without fear, because they know that under his leadership 
they are safe. Such a sheep was Jeremias 17 : "And I am 
not troubled following thee, for my pastor and I have not 
9 



130 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. ] 

desired the day of man ; " that is, the day of pleasure sought 
after by the children of the world. 

The good shepherd does not afflict nor punish the sheep 
found, but rather places her on his shoulder and carries her 
home back to the fold. Christ says this of himself : " And 
when he has found the sheep, rejoicing he places her on his 
shoulders." St. Ambrose says: "The shoulders of Christ 
are the arms of the cross, where all sins may find a resting- 
place." This was the favorite image on the walls of the Cat- 
acombs : the good shepherd, with the sheep on his shoulders. 
Isaias foretold this: "He shall feed his flock like a shep- 
herd : he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and 
take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them 
that are with young" (40). Christ did this when he bore 
all our sins in bearing the weight of the cross. David cried 
out : " I have erred like a sheep that is lost ; " and Nathan, 
seeing his contrition, said to him : " The Lord has taken 
away thy sin." He transferred it from the shoulders of Da- 
vid to the shoulders of Christ, the Eedeemer. When sin- 
ners sought and found return to Christ, he joyfully receives 
them and clothes them anew with his graces and favors, as 
did the father of the prodigal son. He received at his table 
even publicans and sinners. He received Thomas, who would 
not believe ; and why did he receive him ? Because he was 
as yet a lamb, tender and weak and just beginning to return 
to the fold. Magdalene the saint he would not allow to touch 
him at the tomb ; while he had allowed Magdalene the sin- 
ner to wash his feet with her tears and anoint him with 
precious ointment. He ordered her to announce his resur- 
rection to Peter especially, because Peter was as yet weak 
after his fall, and he wished to encourage him. Consoling 
thought for the poor sinner ! " Why will you die, house 
of Israel ? For I desire not the death of him who dieth, 
saith the Lord God, return ye and live " (Ezech. 18 : 31, 32). 

V. The good shepherd looks after the health of his sheep, 
and heals their infirmities. Christ the shepherd of all will 
do the same, as Ezechiel foretold : " I will bind up that 
which was broken, and I will strengthen that which was 
weak, and that which was fat and strong I will preserve : and 
I will feed them in judgment " (34 : 16). How truly does this 
apply to Christ, who, while on earth, healed so many bodily 
infirmities ; and what shall we say of spiritual infirmities 
healed by means of the Sacraments ? Nor is he like other 



WHAT A GOOD SHEPHERD CHRIST IS. 131 

doctors, who often are unable to cure their patients ; nor 
does he look for a fee, but rather gives a reward to those he 
heals. "I will feed them in judgment," that is, eternal life. 
Those sheep that should grow, and are with young, are led to 
dry pastures on the mountains ; while those destined for the 
slaughter are fed in the rich fields of the valleys. Christ acts 
in a like manner, for he has sheep of two kinds ; those that 
are such in name and deed ; others called sheep, but in 
reality goats ; the former are the chosen ones, the latter the 
doomed. Ezechiel says : " I will judge between flocks and 
flocks, of rams and of goats." But where ? First, in this 
life, where the sheep and the rams feed on tribulations, ac- 
cording to Isaias 30 : " I will give you short water and 
bread," that is, the bread of tribulation and the water of 
bitterness ; the goats, however, he fattens with earthly de- 
lights of this world, that they may at least enjoy themselves 
here, since'they are unwilling to enjoy themselves hereafter. 

VI. The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep : by ex- 
posing himself to danger, to preserve their life ; by heat and 
cold, rain and storm, he saps his strength, and courts prema- 
ture death. Christ freely died for all, expecting no reward. 
Other shepherds expect meat and wool from their sheep ; 
Christ could not expect anything from us, since we could 
give nothing. St. Bernard says : " Christ sustained our sins 
in his assumed flesh and this not on his own account, but on 
ours, to render us strong from weak, friends from strangers, 
free from slaves. 

Since, therefore, Christ was and is to-day the good shep- 
herd, let us see that we are his good sheep. 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

SEVEif LITTLE THINGS TO BE CONSIDEEED. 



I. The little while of time. II. The little service we give to God. 
III. The little or brief life given to us. IV. The little good we 
have done. V. The little number of the elect. VI. The little 
that is required for our damnation. VII. The little that is re- 
quired for eternal happiness. 

" What is this that he saith, A little while ? " (John 16 : 18). 

It was a common opinion of old, that the frequent repetition 
of the same sound by the birds of the air was an omen of 
future tranquillity. Putting aside this tradition, we can 
safely say that the frequent repetition in to-day's gospel of 
the word little — four times by our Lord and three times by 
his disciples — is not without some important signification. 
It certainly has much to do with the affair of our salvation. 
Following the example of the disciples we can ask : " What 
is this, they, Christ and his Apostles, say to us, A little 
while ? " The repetition of this word is nothing else than, 
after the tempest of Passion Sunday, an omen of future tran- 
quillity and joy, according to the words of Christ : " And 
you shall see me ; and your sorrow shall be turned into joy." 
These seven littles give us ample food for reflection on the 
seven days of the week, since they stimulate us to the right 
ordering of our lives and bring to us tranquillity of mind. 
Four of these refer to the present ; the remaining three to 
the future. 

I. A little while of time. " For what is your life ? It is 

132 



SEVEN LITTLE THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED. 133 

a vapor which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards 
shall vanish away " (James 4 : 15). Consider the time of 
your past life, how quickly it has vanished ! Before you 
have done anything, evening comes, and your schemes are 
at an end ; you have scarcely begun to put your thoughts 
into execution, when all is over. The future is not less slow 
i than the past. Therefore, if in the past, you have accom- 
' plished so little, do you not fear that the same will be said 
of the future ? At the first halt on his journey, Tobias rested 
by the river Tiger, which, according to St. Isidore, took its 
name from the animal on account of the swiftness of its 
current ; " and he went forth to bathe his feet" (Tob. 6). 
So should we learn to look on life which goes quickly like 
the river Tiger ; and bathe our feet — the affections — and 
cleanse them from the mire of worldly love, with which they 
are tainted on our journey. Eivers flow into the sea and 
thence return to flow into it again ; but not so with man, 
who is but " a wind that goeth and returneth not." The 
falcons of Norway are said to be the swiftest and most indus- 
trious birds of prey, on account of the days being so short 
there. Since we know that our days are short, should we 
not be anxious to lay up a store of good deeds ? And a 
strange thing it is, that that falcon the devil is more earnest 
in preventing our salvation than we are in securing it. 
" Woe to the earth and to the sea, because the devil is come 
down unto you having great wrath, knowing that he hath 
but a short time" (Apoc. 12). Hence, in their agony, does 
he tempt men the more, and more cruelly afflicts them. 
Should we not during this little while of time look forward 
to the end, and be prepared to meet the attacks of the arch- 
enemy ? 

i( And when the Philistine arose and was coming and 
drew nigh to meet David, David made haste and ran to the 
fight to meet the Philistine. And he put his hand into the 
scrip and took a stone and cast it with the sling, and fetch- 
ing it about struck the Philistine on the forehead : and he 
fell on his face upon the earth " (Kings 17). So must we go 
forth to meet the devil and put our hand in the scrip of good 
works, and strike him on the forehead, that is, in the begin- 
ning, lest he strike us in death. 

II. How little service during the day or the week do we 
render God, and how much could we do ? We should at 
least give a tenth part of the day to the service of God ; for 



134 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

the same reason that a tenth part of the fruits should be 
given to God, should a tenth part of time be given to him. 
This we can do by hearing Mass, praying morning and night, 
before and after meals, examining our consciences once a 
day to see if they be stained and how we can cleanse them ; 
to remember him daily and to seize every opportunity af- 
forded by his creatures to praise him ; to often sigh for our 
heavenly home, and to dwell on the thought of death and 
eternal gloom. But if we ask ourselves : Do we do all these 
things ? I am afraid we must answer no. All our time we 
give to the comforts of the body or the pleasures of the 
world : sleeping, eating and drinking, walking, amusements 
and pleasures of all sorts. And what do we derive from all 
these ? Hear St. Augustine on Ps. 89 : " Our years shall 
be considered as a spider. " " The spider," says he, 6 ' weaves 
his bowels the whole day to catch flies, but with no effect ; 
so in the life of man, we seek possessions, we desire riches 
and every enjoyment, and at the same time we forget to 
weave the web of eternal happiness for w T hich we have been 
created." Heliogabalus, the Emperor, ordered one thousand 
pounds of spiders to be collected for him ; and it is said that 
he finally had ten thousand pounds saying : " Let it be known 
from this how great Home was." How many to-day are 
hunters of spiders ; who seek honors and riches which are 
nothing else than the web of spiders. But, you will say, I 
must look after myself and family, and I cannot give the 
time to the service of God. But listen to the decision of 
Solomon, who ordered the infant to be divided into two parts, 
and one part to be given to each woman who claimed the 
child. The soul, the nobler part of man, contends that the 
whole day should be given to the service of God ; the body, 
the weaker part, claims that the day should be given to itself 
because it needs more. What is to be done ? Let the child 
or the little while of life be divided and one part given to 
the soul ; the other to the body. Although we can give the 
whole time to the soul and God if we direct all our actions 
to the greater glory of God. 

III. What little vices have we committed this day, week, 
month, year ? The same pride, avarice, enmity, tepidity 
which were in the beginning of the year, nay even for many 
years. " What is it that hath been ? the same thing that 
shall be. What is it that hath been done ? the same that 
shall be done " Solomon (1). The same may be said of the 



SEVEN LITTLE THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED. 135 

majority of men. What do they do this year ? What they 
did last year. What kind of men are they this year ? The 
same that they were last year. Do you remember what that 
blind man saw when partially healed by our Lord ? " I see 
men" he says, "walking like trees/' And how do trees 
walk ? Do they move from place to place ? Certainly not ; 
but when swayed by the wind, they seem to change their 
place ; but to-morrow they will be found just where they 
stood to-day, because their roots are fixed in the earth. So 
with many men who should advance daily in virtue, and 
destroy one vice after another. At times they are moved by 
the wind of divine grace, as when they receive the Sacra- 
ments at Easter ; but afterwards they are found in the same 
place in which they stood before, because they are tied to 
the earth and its affections, and their own depraved habits. 

IV. What little of good deeds have you done to-day, or 
during the past week ? What use have you made of the 
merits of Christ, and how much of his mercy will you re- 
ceive ? You will find very many days devoid of good works. 
Consider how little you have done to help the poor ; how 
little you have mortified yourself with regard to food and 
drink ; how little you have given in the way of alms ! In 
this way, you will find how much time you have lost. If the 
Emperor Titus, having failed on any day to give alms, was 
accustomed to say : " Friends, I have lost a day ; " what will 
you say, who have lost not only one but many days on which 
you neglected to do good ? {i He who soweth sparingly, 
shall also reap sparingly, and he who soweth in blessings, shall 
also reap of blessings " (2 Cor. 6:9). You shall receive 
a small measure of mercy from God, if you sow a small meas- 
ure of good works. il Because of the cold, the sluggard 
would not plough : he shall beg therefore in the summer, 
and it shall not be given him " (Proverb 20 : 4). So it will be 
with the sluggard in the summer of the next life, who on ac- 
count of a little hardship will have neglected to till the soil 
of his body with the plow of penance. This the foolish 
virgins found out to their sorrow when they had not brought 
oil with them, being forced to beg and then to be refused it. 

V. How little is the number of the elect ; as the Lord 
says : "Many are called but few are chosen." St. Theresa 
said that she saw souls falling into hell as the leaves fall from 
the trees in autumn. Strive daily to live like the few. 
Compare your life and habits with the life and habits of 



136 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

others ; and if you find that you live like the majority, you 
have cause to fear. Do not give the excuse : I am not alone 
in this or that vice — others do the same ; I am not the first 
nor the last. " Therefore hath hell enlarged her soul and 
opened her mouth without any bounds "(Isaias 5 : 14); because 
there are many who walk on the open broad road to ruin. 

VI. How little is required for damnation. One mortal 
sin ! For Purgatory, a vain thought, an idle word, a 
jocose lie. This is the teaching of all the Fathers and theolo- 
gians. " Nothing defiled can enter heaven," says St. John. 
We must render an account of every idle word ; he who calls 
his brother a fool is guilty of hell-fire. Why then do we 
make light of little things ? If the law said that those who 
lie, should lose their tongues ; those who listen to the de- 
tractor, should lose their ears ; those who strike another, 
should suffer death ; who would not fear ? The fire of Pur- 
gatory is destined for all who commit venial sins. How 
anxious we should be to wash away venial sins by hearing mass 
frequently, using holy water, gaining indulgences — how 
careful and watchful lest we commit the slightest fault. 

VII. How little God requires from you for the glory which 
he wishes to give you. Love alone, he asks, which is so easy 
and makes all things easy. Virtue according to its nature 
is much more easy than sin which is against nature. The 
devil asks greater struggles for damnation ; and the wicked 
undergo more to reach perdition than the good do to reach 
heaven. " We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and 
destruction, and have walked through hard ways " (Wisdom 
5: 7). The way of the proud is mountainous, because honors 
are mountains which are not scaled without great labor. 
The way of the avaricious is thorny, because riches are thorns 
piercing from all sides ; the way of the licentious is miry, 
because it is defiled with foulness ; the way of the envious is 
dark, because envy blinds ; the way of the angry is tumultu- 
ous, because anger destroys peace ; the way of the sluggard is 
slow, because he holds fast to the earth. Certainly, the 
wicked can say : we have walked through hard ways. And 
what, in the end, is the reward for this journey ? the same 
that beasts of burden receive. At the end of their journey, 
their harness is taken off and they are then led into the 
stable. So with the wicked ; at the end of life's journey 
they shall be stripped of all their goods and with wounded 
consciences led into the stable of hell. 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

HOW WILL THE WOELD BE CONVINCED OF SIS', JUSTICE AND 

JUDGMENT ? 



I. The Holy Ghost will convince the world of sin. II. Of justice. 
III. Of judgment. 

" And when he is come, he will convince the world of sin, and of justice and of 
judgment " (John 16 : 8). 

I do not doubt, my brethren, but that you are persuaded 
that the Holy Ghost speaks through the preachers of the 
Church. The holy Fathers who expound the gospel teach 
this, and reason itself bears testimony to it ; for the very 
same spirit which formerly, through the mouths of the 
Apostles, reclaimed the world steeped in idolatry, now by 
preachers reprehend the same world given over to all man- 
ner of vices. But you may ask : how is it that the Holy 
Ghost, since he is the paraclete or consoler, continually 
scolds us through his teachers ? Seldom we hear consoling 
sermons ; more frequently, threatening ones. To this Job 
answers, when persecuted by the devil, he says : " And this 
may be my comfort, that afflicting me with sorrow, he spare 
not, nor I contradict the words of the Holy One " (6 : 10). 
St. Gregory, explaining this, says : " The elect desire to be 
chastised with paternal chastisement, and consider grief as a 
healing balm. As if he were to say openly : " Who spares 
certain ones here to chastise them hereafter ; therefore let 
him afflict me here so that he may spare me hereafter." 
The vexation and torture of the devil was a consolation to 
Job, because it was a redemption from future and far more 
bitter torments. The surgeon's knife and the nauseous drug 
are often the messengers of joy to the afflicted patient. The 
Holy Ghost is your consoler, when he reproves you. 

I. The Holy Ghost convinces the world of sin, that is, men 
given up to the world and its vanities, First, since they are 
Christians and sworn servants of God, having in Baptism, 

137 



138 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

enrolled under his standard, in sinning they become traitors 
and followers of the world, the flesh and the devil. He does 
not convince infidels and Jews because they have not received 
the faith, nor those aids of grace that have been given to 
Christians. Baptism and Christianity, according to St. Cyp- 
rian, are nothing else than the death of crimes and the life 
of virtues. And what does the Christian sinner do ? The 
crimes destroyed by Christ in Baptism, he again revives ; 
the grace and virtues received then, he now destroys. What 
a dreadful imprecation was that uttered by Josue against 
those who would try to build up the walls of Jericho ! 
Jericho means iniquity, and it is destroyed by the trumpets 
of the priests — by the preaching of the word of God — and 
woe to the one that shall rebuild it ! Is it wonderful that 
the Holy Ghost should reprimand more severely than infidels, 
Christians who restore fallen Babylon ? With greater justice 
he reprehends those who not only after Baptism but also 
after Penance so often received, and after so many promises 
of amendment, fall again and again into the same sins. As 
leprosy once cured and afterwards breaking out in a sore was 
more detestable so that the priest was ordered to defile such 
leprosy, " for the plague of leprosy is broken out in an ulcer ; " 
so sin repeated is worse and more execrable in the sight of 
God. Such sinners, the Holy Ghost defiles by depriving 
them of his grace. 

Secondly, because, after so many benefits received in pref- 
erence to numberless other beings, they dare to offend God 
and to return evil for good ; to make the gifts jof God 
weapons to be turned against him. God is not slow with his 
gifts to grateful ones ; on the contrary, he very often up- 
braids the ungrateful ones, as he did in the beginning with 
the Hebrew people. " I made you go out of Egypt and have 
brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers 
. . . and you would not hear my voice " (Judges 2). We 
have examples also of Heli the high priest (1 Kings 2) ; Saul 
(1 Kings 15) ; David (2 Kings 11). Christ himself could not 
but remark the ingratitude of the nine lepers whom he healed, 
and who did not return to give thanks (Luke 17). Example 
also of the ungrateful servant (Matt. 21). The greater the 
need one is in, the greater should be his gratitude. As 
often as we receive the sacrament of Penance, God grants us 
remission of sins and his grace ; and yet how ungrateful we 
are not to give him what we owe him ! Truly David says 



THE WORLD CONVINCED OF SIN, JUSTICE, ETC. 139 

(Ps. 36) : " The sinner shall borrow and not pay again ; " 
that is, he shall receive many gifts from God without giving 
one good work in return. St. Angustine says : " How much 
has the sinner received, for which he gives nothing in return ! 
He has received the form of a body, and in it a distinction 
of senses : eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell, palate to 
taste, hands to grasp, feet to walk. But we have these in 
common with the brute creation ; man has received more ; 
a mind to understand, to receive truth, to discern between 
just and unjust, to desire his Creator, to praise and adore 
him. All this the sinner receives, but by living a bad life, 
he refuses to pay his Creator what he owes him, not only 
that, he returns evil for good ; therefore let him be cast into 
prison, till he pay the debt." 

Thirdly, because with such an easy remedy as Confession at 
hand, by which they could wash away their sins, they neglect 
it however and continue for months and years in sin and in the 
enmity of God ; and this surely is the height of madness, and 
deserving of the severest punishment. Did not the Hebrews 
in the desert deserve to be upbraided, when bitten by serpents 
they had neglected to look up to the brazen serpent erected for 
their benefit ? But sin is more poisonous than a serpent. 
" Flee from sins as from the face of a serpent ; the teeth thereof 
are the teeth of a lion, killing the souls of men" (Eccles. 21 : 2.) 
We have a remedy by looking up to Christ hanging on the 
cross for our sins ; and filled with grief for our sins, we can 
wash them away by showing their poisonous bites to the 
priest. What an easy remedy ! If we are bodily afflicted, 
how quickly we seek relief ; but when the soul is sick, how 
slow we are to apply the healing balm ! A person, having 
offended a friend, strives in every way to make atonement, 
and become reconciled ; but the sinner, having offended God 
his best friend, instead of placating him angers him all the 
more. On account of this slothfulness, God seems to have 
upbraided Solomon who remained so long in sin unmindful 
of his God ; and who knew that David his father, by one 
word " I have sinned," appeased the divine wrath (3 Kings 
11). " Because thou hast done this and hast not kept my 
covenant, I will divide and rend thy kingdom ; " that _ is, 
because you have nourished the serpent in your bosom, like 
so many women, so many idols, when you could have easily 
got rid of them, you neglected, and therefore I will rend 
your kingdom as the serpent of sin rends your soul. 



140 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

II. He convinces the world of justice ; because, if you 
take away justice, the republic cannot stand ; nor the gov- 
ernment of the whole world, when it is not found in man ; 
and then the anger of God begins, and it cannot be appeased 
till justice be restored. The Lord says of the Persians, who, 
in the time of Zacharias under Cyrus and again under 
Darius Hystaspus, had destroyed the impious Babylon : 
i ' They have quieted my spirit in the land of the North " (Zach. 
6) ; that is, I was restless, until appeased by the Persians' 
taking summary vengeance on the Babylonian tyrants. He 
shall convince the world of justice, first, badly administered. 
This is shown in the story of Heli the priest who had not 
punished his sons for their grave crimes. God called four 
times to the boy Samuel to go to Heli and reprimand him, 
as though the justice of God could not rest until the guilty 
were punished. " Behold I do a thing in Israel : and 
whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle. . . . For 
I have foretold unto him that I will judge his house forever, 
for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, 
and did not chastise them " (1 Kings 3 : 11-13). He 
wishes to say : " I shall punish him in such a way that all 
ears shall tingle and tremble with fear/' In the same way 
the Lord treated King Achab on account of having let go 
Benadad, the enemy of the Israelites. " Because thou hast 
let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life 
shall be for his life, and thy people for his people " (3 Kings 
20 : 42). The same thing happened to Saul for sparing 
King Agag. 

Secondly, of justice entirely neglected or not administered. 
For this reason Absalom sought to deprive his father of his 
kingdom, asserting, though falsely, that no one was con- 
stituted to hear the poor, thinking that this would be a 
powerful argument for dethroning David (2 Kings 15). 
This defect is such as to fill the whole republic with lamen- 
tations, in which the Holy Ghost reproves by the mouths of 
widows and orphans. 

Thirdly, of justice impeded, overturned, eluded by vio- 
lence and power, by gifts and cunning. " Thy princes are 
faithless, companions of thieves ; they all love bribes, they 
run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless, and 
the widow's cause cometh not into them" (Isaias 1 : 23). 
They expect no gifts nor favors from them ; so their case is 
put behind others or entirely rejected. And again (Isaias 



THE WORLD CONVINCED OF SIN, JUSTICE, ETC. 141 

10 : 1-3) : " Woe to them that make wicked laws : and 
when they write, write injustice : To oppress the poor in 
judgment, and do violence to the cause of the humble of my 
people : that widows might be their prey, and that they 
might rob the fatherless. What will you do in the day of 
visitation, and of the calamity which cometh from afar ? to 
whom will ye flee for help ? " 

He convinces by means of gentiles and barbarians, who 
often had the highest idea of justice ; as the Areopagite 
judges, the most just and most severe, who by night and in 
darkness held court so that they might not see the accused 
and be moved by the sight of them. Theocloric, on hearing 
that the case of a poor widow was continued for three years, 
ordered the judges to see to it and finish it in two days ; 
and then had them beheaded for their unnecessary delay. 

III. He shall convince the world of judgment, not fore- 
seen nor thought of. There will be no question in that 
judgment of the loss of this life or of other temporal things ; 
but of our salvation or damnation, which is to endure for 
eternity. St. Gregory says : "The mercy of God is said to 
forget him who has forgotten his justice." Who would not 
blame those criminals who, being led to punishment, should 
go singing and dancing ; but they act thus, who forget that 
they are going to judgment ; who rejoice at having done 
evil ; and who live as though there were no future. 

Secondly, of judgment so often inculcated. The laws of 
earthly rulers once promulgated, strike terror into the breasts 
of evildoers. But the decrees and judgment of God are 
so often announced to men yet, and yet they are so little 
heeded. The judgment of G-od is seen in the fall of so many 
thousands of angels for one sin only. ""Thou hast caused 
judgment to be heard from heaven" (Ps. 75 : 9). 

St. Bernard says : " What do you think ? He will indif- 
ferently admit men into that home of blessedness, in which 
he does not indifferently allow the angels to remain ? Or he 
will not discriminate between clods of earth, who has dis- 
criminated between stars ? What kind of a man should be 
found to enjoy the place of an expelled angel ? He incul- 
cated it to our first parents, judged and condemned after 
their transgression in the garden of paradise ; afterwards in 
the deluge ; in the burning of the five cities ; in the opening 
of the earth and the swallowing of the rebellious. Finally, 
in Scripture, there is nothing more frequently brought to 



142 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

mind, than the last judgment ; and that especially among 
the prophets. It is onr tutor in exercising piety. He who 
ignores this tutor will see what answer he will make to God. 
The walls of Jericho fell after the priests had marched 
around them seven times, sounding the trumpets. Not only 
seven times, but hundreds of times do the priests cry out 
everywhere and proclaim the judgment of God ; and in the 
meantime, the hardened hearts of sinners are not softened. 

Thirdly, of judgment contemned and despised, as though 
there will never be one. Origen says : "1 fear we merit 
fire, not for single members, but for the whole body. When 
the eyes are lascivious either through illicit desires or devilish 
spectacles, what else do they gather for themselves but fire ? 
When the ears are not turned away from hearing vain de- 
tractions of our neighbor ; when the hands are always stained 
with murder and rapine ; when the feet are swift to shed 
blood ; when the body is given, not to the Lord, but to the 
lusts of the flesh and the world ; what else is this but to give 
the whole body over to hell ? " But when these things are 
proclaimed, they are received with contempt. Why ? Be- 
cause faith is wanting. If an earthly judge were to tell you 
that you had but one more day to live, what would you do ? 
Would you not spend all you had to have powerful ones in- 
tercede for you ? Would you not bend all your energies to 
obtaining that one thing, despising all else ? If so much 
care be taken to defend oneself before an earthly tribunal, 
what shall we do before the heavenly one, where each one is 
to render an account of all his words, deeds and actions ? 
Truly the "redemption of the soul of man are his riches." 
How can we believe or understand those things, since we 
pay no heed to them ? The Holy Ghost foresaw that, at the 
end of the world, there would be men who would indulge 
freely their passions ; who would deny a future judgment ; 
and these he reproves by St. Peter : " In the last days, there 
shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 
saying : where is his promise or his coming ? " (2 Peter 
3 : 3, 4). "For yet a little and a very little while, and he 
that is to come, will come and will not delay " (Heb. 10 : 3, 7). 
God is either just or not. If just, he has named the day on 
which he will render to each one according to his works. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

UTILITY AND FRUITS OF PRAYER. 



I. It exhilarates the mind. II. Generates contempt of the world. 
III. Fortifies against the enemy. IV. Repels the devil. V. Con- 
quers God himself. VI. Commands what it asks. VII. Al- 
ways merits something. 

" Ask, and you shall receive " (John 16 : 24). 

We read in the book of Judith that, when Holofernes was 
about to lay siege to Bethulia, he went around the city and 
" found that a fountain which supplied the people with 
water ran through an aqueduct without the city on the 
south side : and he commanded their aqueduct to be cut off." 
He surely would have accomplished his purpose, were it not 
that God by means of his servant Judith destroyed him. In 
a spiritual sense, the enemy of the human race does the same 
thing, since he knows how much good comes to us through 
the celestial aqueduct, which is no other than prayer, the 
fountain of all God's graces ; and therefore, he strives to de- 
stroy this and divert men from praying, certain indeed that 
they can be easily overcome who neglect this salutary work. 
But what Holofernes could do by force, the devil cannot do 
unless we ourselves consent. How careful then we should 
be lest our aqueduct be cut off. If we should be forced for 
some reason or other to give up many good works, let us 
never give up the work of prayer. 

I. Prayer exhilarates the mind, as St. James says : " Is 
any one of you sad ? let him pray " (5 : 13). St. Paul (1 Thess. 
5 : 16, 17) : "Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing" ; that 
is, if you wish always to rejoice — always pray. ei I will make 
them joyful in my house of prayer" (Isaias 56:7). The 
Jews joyfully went to the temple as to the house of the Lord 

143 



144 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

and there, rejoicing, prayed and sang and played all manner 
of instruments. Hence David (Ps. 121) says : I rejoiced in 
those things that were said to me, I will go into the house of 
the Lord. With what greater joy should we not enter our 
temples where really and truly God dwells in the Blessed 
Eucharist ! We know that David danced and played before 
the Ark of the Covenant, though that Ark was only a figure 
of the Eucharist ; with what consolation should we not pour 
forth our souls in our temples ? St. Hilary says that David, 
while a shepherd, was accustomed to travel alone in the 
country, and becoming melancholy, he would take his harp 
and begin to sing the divine praises, and in this way cheered 
himself in his loneliness. ll So, whenever the evil spirit from 
the Lord was upon Saul, David took his harp, and played 
with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and was better for the 
evil spirit departed from him " (1 Kings 16). Following this 
example, when the spirit of sadness is on us, let us take the 
harp of prayer, and sing the praises of God. The reason is, 
that when we make known the afflictions and miseries we 
suffer to another, and especially to a higher judge, we are re- 
lieved and refreshed as though we had just put down a heavy 
burden. Much more should we be consoled when we lay bare 
all our miseries and afflictions before God, for he is our 
father-physician and judge. ' ' Commit thy way to the Lord 
and trust in him, and he will do it. And he will bring forth 
thy justice as the light " (Ps. 36). Open your case, and place 
it before God in prayer, and he will find away by which your 
innocence will be made known to your accusers. Such was 
the case with Susanna, who, when unjustly condemned, look- 
ing up to heaven, commended herself to God, " for her heart 
had confidence in God," who, through the instrumentality 
of the boy Daniel, proved her innocence and liberated her. 

II. It generates contempt of worldly things. The man of 
prayer approaches God and speaks with him about things of 
the greatest moment ; and having tasted of these, he begins 
to despise, as puerile, the things of earth. As the counsellors 
of a king, who are accustomed to treat with him about affairs 
of state, the army, war, etc., when they return home, they 
pay no heed to private and domestic affairs, but look on them 
as trifles ; so those who treat with God in prayer about the 
important affairs that relate to God's glory and the salvation 
of the soul, when they turn their eyes to earth, they look on 
everything as void and empty. If one were to stand near 



UTILITY AND FRUITS OF PRAYER. l±& 

the sun and look down on the earth, he would consider it a 
mere dot ; and if one were standing on a very high tower, he 
would rate men no greater than ants, and horses as little 
dogs ; so the one given to prayer looks on earthly things as 
nothing. Prayer is an ascending of the mind to God, and by 
it God does not so much approach us as we approach him ; 
as St. Denis the Areopagite says : "As one placed in a boat 
brings himself to shore, he seems to draw the shore to him, 
while the contrary is the case ; " so the man of prayer is rather 
drawn to God than he draws God to himself. Hence it hap- 
pens that such a one is not easily disturbed or saddened ; 
though he receives an offense or an injury, though he sees 
others possessing greater goods than himself, etc., because, 
conscious of heavenly things, all these he despises ; in like 
manner he does not rejoice over temporal fortune, if he is 
praised, if he acquires wealth, if he has costly garments, if 
he sees the misfortunes of his enemies, because he counts as 
nothing what men of earth value so highly. 

III. He fortifies the wall against the dangerous incursions 
of the enemy. There is an example of this in Exodus 17, 
where it is told that, as long as Moses held up his hands in 
prayer, Israel was victorious ; when he let them down for a 
moment, Amalec was victor. In like manner the priest 
Eliachim urged the Israelites to oppose Holofernes. The 
same thing happened to St. Gregory Thaumaturgus when he 
was fighting for his people against the tyrant. With his 
Deacon, he betook himself to a mountain to pray, and was 
followed by his enemies, who did not recognize them, but 
thought rather that they were two trees. Hence the Em- 
peror Honorius did not hesitate to say : " that the Eoman 
Empire fell or stood by the prayers of the priests." Jus- 
tinian says : " The empire, the army, the fields themselves, 
whatever men possess, are preserved by the prayers of saints." 
For this end so many religious orders have been established 
in the Church ; and there is a continual appeal ascending in 
prayer to the throne of God. If the prayers of others avail, 
how much more so our own ! Judas Macchabaeus was vic- 
torious as long as he prayed ; as soon as he ceased, the battle 
went against him, and finally he was slain. 

IV. Repels the devil. St. Chrysostom says : " The wicked 
spirits immediately retreat, if we fortify our walls by prayer ; 
the same with thieves and robbers, when they find the sword 
hanging over them." One not given to prayer becomes aij 

19 



146 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

easy prey to the demons who carry him off and subject him 
to many indignities. It is told that Julian the Apostate 
once sent a devil from Persia to the west to bring back some 
message. When he arrived at the place where Publius the 
Monk lived, he stood there immovable for ten days, while 
the monk continued to pray ; and so was impeded on his 
journey. Having returned, and on being chided by Julian, 
he told him about the monk. Indignant at this, the monk 
was ordered to be put to death ; but the unfortunate Julian 
himself died soon after. They say that the Thracian horses, 
no matter how wild, can be held and subdued by a single 
thread. Is not the devil a most ferocious beast ? And yet 
he is conquered and bound by the most slender thread of 
prayer. In the Canticle of Canticles 4, we read : " Thy lips 
are as a scarlet lace " (some have it thread), clearly showing 
that the lips of the man of prayer are such a thread. Scaliger 
writes that when the chameleon, the enemy of all poisonous 
animals, sees a serpent, he ascends a tree, and from his 
mouth, like a spider, he lets down a thread, on the end of 
which is a drop glittering as a pearl and its touch is sure 
death. Prayer made in the name of Jesus has the same 
power against the devil according to Christ : " They shall 
expel demons in my name." Therefore the Church at the 
end of all prayers adds a pearl to the thread of prayer by the 
words : "through our Lord Jesus Christ." Wherefore when 
the infernal serpent would ensnare us, let us ascend the tree 
of prayer, raise our minds to God and weave such a thread. 
When one sees a wild beast coming, he climbs a tree ; so 
when wicked thoughts come, fly to God by prayer and you 
will be saved. 

V. It conquers God himself. Thus Moses by prayer held 
and bound God, as it were, lest he should destroy an idola- 
trous people. God says : " Let me alone that my wrath may 
be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and 
I will make of thee a great nation (Exod. 32 : 10). But 
Moses persevered in prayer and God was appeased. The 
same power of prayer was shown in the struggle Jacob had 
with the angel. He held him and would not let him go till 
he had blessed him. Great is the strength of that little fish, 
a foot long, which clings to the keel of mighty ships, and in 
spite of wind and wave prevents their sailing. But greater 
by far is the strength of prayer which restrains God from in- 
flicting punishment. Amos writes that God once sent a 



UTILITY AND FRUITS OF PRAYER. 14^ 

plague of locusts to destroy the crops. And when they had 
partly destroyed them Amos prayed : " Lord God, cease, 
I beseech thee ; who shall raise up Jacob, for he is a little 
one ? The Lord had pity on this ; yea this also shall not be, 
said the Lord God " (Amos 7 : 5, 6). See what a short prayer 
conquered the anger of God ! 

VI. It commands what it asks. For prayer is as a golden 
key, such as was given to the keepers of the galleries by princes, 
as a sign that they could open the locks at any time and ap- 
proach the prince. Such a key Christ gives us when he says 
in to-day's gospel : " Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in 
my name, he shall give it you." What wonderful things 
may be obtained with this key ! Moses obtained water from 
a rock, manna from heaven, the division of the Red Sea. 
Elias had, as it were, the keys of heaven ; he opened it for 
rain, and closed it again at will. The Hebrews say that God 
reserves to himself four keys : the key of rain, key of gener- 
ation, key of plenty to dispel famine, key of resurrection. 
Bat prayer is a sort of universal key, opening all these closed 
things. Elias prayed and obtained rain, and destroyed the 
famine ; Isaac prayed for his barren wife and obtained two 
sons ; Elias prayed and raised the dead. This key should 
not be used indiscreetly, lest the power be restricted ; so we 
should be discreet in what we ask of God. " One of two 
things we can surely hope from God," says St. Bernard, 
" either he will give us what we ask, or what he judges more 
useful for us." 

VII. A devout prayer always merits something, though it 
may not receive what it asks. That prayer of St. Paul was 
not heard when he prayed three times to have the sting of 
the flesh taken away from him ; yet he had the merit of 
prayer. Whatever is not granted to one is not denied, but 
deferred, and is changed into a future reward. As when one 
promises God and his Church a certain sum of money for 
health, or has masses said ; although he does not obtain 
what he asks, he does not, however, lose the merit of the 
work ; it is stored up for him in heaven. 



SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OP THE 

ASCENSION. 

HOW THE APOSTLES GAVE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST, AND HOW 
EACH CHRISTIAN SHOULD DO THE SAME. 



I. By voice. II. By Christian conversation. III. By miracles. 
IV. By martyrdom. Our tyrants and persecutors are : free 
will ; the world ; the flesh ; the devil. 

"And you shall give testimony of me, because you are with me from the 

beginning " (John 15 : 27). 

A great dignity was conferred on the Apostles when they 
were called witnesses of the life and passion of Christ ; and 
this we see in the words of the text. For what else is a wit- 
ness but a defender and guardian of some cause ? And what 
is it to be a defender of God ? Hence the Apostle Peter 
glories in that name ; not because he is an Apostle, the 
Prince of Apostles and head of the whole Church ; but be- 
cause he is a witness of Christ. "I beseech, who am myself 
an ancient and a witness of the sufferings of Christ " (1 Peter 
5:1). St. Paul could not confer on St. Stephen, the first mar- 
tyr, a more honorable title than witness of Christ, " and when 
the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed'' (Acts 22 :20). 
Finally, all the holy martyrs who shed their blood for Christ 
were called by this name, for the word martyr in Latin signi- 
fies witness. Besides, if we note well, we Christians also are 
understood by that name and are marked with that dignity. 
For if the Apostle (Heb. 12 : 1) called the ancient Fathers 
witnesses of Christ or martyrs, because they fought for the 
faith ; if John calls Enoch and Elias who are to come in the 
time of Anti-Christ witnesses of Christ ; who doubts that 
even we can be his witnesses, nay should be, especially those 
who have lately become members of the true Church ? 

148 



GIVING TESTIMONY OF CHRIST. 149 

I. By voice or preaching, as is evident from Acts 4 : 20 : 
"For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen 
and heard ; " that is, because we have been deputed as wit- 
nesses of Christ : we must fulfil our office. And farther on 
(4 : 33 ) : " And with great power did the Apostles give testi- 
mony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord." So 
great was their fervor in preaching the gospel, that they were 
said, by some, to be full of new wine ; then also they tried 
to convert even their judges, as St. Paul says (Acts 26 : 26 ); 
as though there were no question of his danger, but of theirs. 
Therefore, every Christian should believe in Christ, not only 
mentally, but also when occasion requires, he should confess 
his faith by word of mouth ; like a clock, which not only 
indicates the hours, but also sounds a bell. St. Ambrose 
wishes all Christians to recite the Creed every morning, and 
especially when in danger. St. Augustine and St. Jerome 
advise us to repeat it before beginning any work. The 
Apostles gave it to us not in writing but by word of mouth, 
to teach us to alway have it in our heart and mouth, and to 
recite it from memory. This should be especially observed 
by converts, to do away with every indication of their former 
belief, and in order to be looked on by the faithful as sheep 
and not as wolves ; they should give evidence of the sincerity 
of their faith by external signs ; even as St. Paul who, when 
newly converted, continually entered the Synagogue and 
preached Christ : and when having entered Jerusalem, he 
tried to mingle with the faithful, who did not know he had 
been converted, and who feared him as a wolf ; he failed 
until introduced by Barnabas ; then he defended the faith 
against Greek and Gentile who strove to put him to death 
(Acts 9). Much less is it by any means allowed to deny the 
faith ; what son dares, without committing a serious crime, 
deny his father ? 

II. By the raising of two fingers, that is, by the holy con- 
versation of a Christian life which contains two parts : flight 
from sin, and study of virtue, according to the Psalmist : 
" Depart from evil and do good." How holy was the con- 
versation of the Apostles we learn from the Acts, where it is 
said that Christians lived then as religious live now. They 
had everything in common, were persevering daily in hearing 
the word of God, in communicating and in almsgiving. An 
institution of disciples, so good, reflects credit on their 
teachers as a fine work, on its originator. Hence the Apostle, 



150 SUNDAY WITHIN OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION. 

does not require from the Corinthians any letter of recom- 
mendation other than their life which he had taught them. 
"You are our epistle" (2 Cor. 3 :1, 2). St. Peter testifies 
that the Christians formed by him, on account of the 
sanctity of their lives, are a miracle to the Gentiles (1 :4). 
When St. Blandina was being tortured for a supposed crime, 
i she said to her tormentors: "I am a Christian, no evil is 
! committed by us." This testimony was most efficacious in 
the beginning, and in a wonderful manner moved heretics 
to embrace the religion of Christ ; for it had been foretold 
by Isaias (61 : 9 ): " These are the seed which the Lord hath 
blessed." Seeing this in his own time, Julian the Apostate 
wrote to Araces the high priest of Salatia that he should 
conform his customs to those of the Christians, and correct 
those of his priests. But he labored in vain ; for it belongs 
to divine power, not to human, to form men in holiness of 
life. We Christians should, therefore, imitate the Apostles 
in this, and by the innocence of our lives give testimony to 
Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he came down 
from heaven as the Saviour of the world ; that he snatched 
us from the power of darkness, and made us children of light 
and of God ; this we should show by putting off the works of 
darkness, and putting on the armor of light, by avoiding evil, 
and doing good. "A wise woman hath sought wool and 
flax and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands " (Prov. 
31 : 13). Wool is the outer garment, flax the inner. As no 
one would dare appear in public scantily clad ; so no one 
should be content with that faith which lies hidden in the 
heart ; it is necessary to put on the external garment and 
good keeping of faith. This is. " to work by the counsel of 
the hands," namely, when the hand employs the heart. 
Otherwise, if our life does not correspond with the evangeli- 
cal doctrine of Christ, we shall bring discredit and disgrace 
on Christ our teacher and guide. "Be genuine Christians" 
says St. Augustine, "and do not imitate those who are 
Christian in name, but vain in deeds. Such Christians are 
like a flower-bed, beautifully expressing the name Jesus, 
which the growing grass soon covers, and renders it impos- 
sible to distinguish the name. Beautiful indeed is the name 
Christian in the garden of the Church ; but if vice covers it, 
who can read it, who will believe that you are a Christian ? " 
Converts to the faith especially should observe this lest they 
consider it sufficient to have made their profession ; they 



GIVING TESTIMONY OF CHRIST. 151 

must make certain of their vocation by good works. Let 
them not be content that they are a tree planted in the vine- 
yard of the Lord ; but let them strive to bear fruit lest with 
the fig-tree they be cut down. 

III. By the imprint of the seal, that is, by the performing 
of miracles. As a seal appended to a will and other writ- 
ings, so miracles prove the genuineness of the divine mission 
(John 6:27). The Lord says that he was sealed by the 
Father, that is, with the seal of miracles, by which he 
proved that he was sent by the Father. That the Apostles 
for this reason gave testimony of Christ is clearer than 
light. Certainly by this they convinced very many Jews 
and closed the mouths of the Scribes and Pharisees, as had 
been predicted by Isaias (48 : 9) : s< for my praise I will 
bridle thee ; " that is, by glorious miracles. But how will 
other Christians bear this testimony of Christ ? Surely 
miracles are not necessary now, nor are they required of us. 
We can, however, perform wonderful things not unlike 
miracles. If those in the midst of a depraved generation, as 
Paul said of the first Christians, shine as lights in the world, 
will they not perform a great miracle ? The Apostle wishes 
us to be such among those who as yet are not constituted in 
the true faith. St. Anselm says : " Christians should be as 
stars which are fixed in the heavens, and care not for earthly 
things ; but intent on pursuing their course and shedding 
light on the world." Aristotle and Plato say that neither 
the morning nor evening star is as beautiful as a just man. 
Such a light was Job in the land of Hus, because he was 
good among the wicked. Such was Tobias serving God, 
while captive among the Assyrians. Moreover, when all 
went to the golden calves which Jeroboam, King of Israel, 
had made, he alone fled the company of all, and went to 
Jerusalem to the temple of the Lord " (Tob. 1:5). Such a 
light was Noe, when all flesh had corrupted its way. Such 
was Abraham among the Chaldasans ; the Macchabees among 
the Hebrews ; the Philippines and all the early Christians 
among the Gentiles. It certainly is wonderful for good to 
live among wicked people, and not become tainted with 
their vices. Such were St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. 
Basil in the Academy at Athens. St. Gregory writes : " If it 
is believed that a river, passing through a salt sea, retains its 
freshness ; that in a fire, everything is consumed, an animal 
dances ; so were we among all the corrupt and depraved 



152 SUNDAY WITHIN OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION. 

youth." Those who resist many grave temptations, perform 
as many miracles, because they are in the fire and do not 
burn. 

IV. By martyrdom, and this is the last and most perfect 
kind of testimony and the complement of the others. The 
holy Martyrs obtained that name because they sealed with 
their blood their testimony to the true faith. It is not nec- 
essary to show here that this was done by the Apostles ; it 
is readily admitted. But how will we give such testimony 
of Christ ? There are no tyrants now : but there are our 
free will, the world, the flesh and the devil, which we must 
often encounter. If we conquer these, we shall follow 
closely the first martyrs. Our first tyrant and persecutor is 
our own will, which we conquer by obedience. Obedience 
has its martyrdom, by which one br.eaks his head and sub- 
mits to the will of another. Blessed Peter Faber, one of the 
first companions of St. Ignatius, was ordered to come to 
Rome during the intense heat, and though dissuaded by the 
doctors, in a spirit of obedience he obeyed, and as a result 
forfeited his life. Another tyrant is the world, which en- 
snares us by its blandishments and attacks us by its detrac- 
tions. St. Augustine says : " Let us struggle against its 
deadly allurements, knowing that in it daily martyrdoms 
are not wanting to Christians." St. Gregory says: " To 
bear contumely, and to love those who hate us is a hidden 
martyrdom." The third is the flesh, which as long as we 
live in it opposes us. St. Cyprian says : " In vain will you 
give the neck to the executioner unless you destroy the 
members above the earth, that is, the affections that war 
against the spirit : anger, hatred, envy, pride, etc." Nor 
will the devil be found wanting in stirring up strife ; he 
should be carefully watched and resisted by every Christian. 
Finally, every one should be always ready, to profess his 
faith and defend it against its enemies so that he will not 
deny it nor dissimulate when questioned ; let him rather 
suffer torments than recede one iota. There will be many 
things to try the patience of the newly converted. Habits 
long formed which are difficult to get rid of ; the manner of 
living of certain Catholics who are not as exact as they 
should be ; finally, the insults and threats of heretics. He 
should oppose these persecutors, remembering that custom 
is overcome by custom ; that what seemed bitter at first, be- 
comes sweet by use, Seneca says : " It is a difficult thing 



GIVING TESTIMONY OF CHRIST. 153 

for shoulders unaccustomed to it to bear a burden ; a be- 
ginner pales at the thought of a wound ; a veteran boldly 
beholds his blood, who knows that he has often conquered 
after the shedding of blood." There will always be some- 
thing for man to suffer, whether he professes the true 
religion or not. Everywhere, crosses and miseries. A long 
old age ; a tender youth subject to all diseases ; it snows in 
; the mountains ; it rains in the valleys. The Catholic 
1 Church indeed professes sanctity, but not in all her members ; 
she urges them to aspire to it. St. Jerome says : " No one 
is born without vices ; he is the best who is urged by small 
things." Epictetus says : " You wish to undertake the 
study of wisdom, prepare yourself to be laughed at. The 
Saints and Christ himself had their insultors ; who is 
not willing to bear with them ? The derisions of the 
world are to be spurned ; eternal goods to be desired before 
temporal ones. A storm proves a ship ; temptation a Chris- 
tian. It is easy for a Christian to show himself such, as 
long as the world, the flesh and the devil do not allure him ; 
when there are temptations, then the true Christians, the 
true children of God appear. Many Christians pray, fast, 
go to church, to confession as long as there is no tempta- 
tion ; but, when the devil offers special inducements, they 
soon show their true colors ; their religion is a house built 
on sand ; which is soon destroyed by wind and rain. Let 
us then, build our house on the imperishable rock of the 
Church, and there let us give testimony of Christ, who one 
day in heaven will give testimony of us. 



PENTECOST. 

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COMING OF THE HOLY GHOST. 



I. He came on the day of Pentecost and at the third hour. II. H(? 
came upon these sitting in the same house, and rested upon the 
Apostles. III. He came suddenly with force. IV. He came 
with a sound from heaven. V. He came with a mighty wind. 
VI. He filled the whole house. VII. He came to Jerusalem. 
VIII. He came in the form of tongues. IX. In the form of 
tongues of fire. 

" And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind " 

(Acts 2: 2). 

When a King or an Emperor with solemn pomp enters 
a famous city, soon some painter depicts the scene most 
accurately and exhibits it to those who were not present. 
To-day, with solemn pomp, the Holy Ghost enters the world, 
so that this day may be called with Joel : "the great and 
manifest day of the Lord." He came with great thunder, 
like the sound of a bombardment ; he came with force and a 
mighty wind ; he came from heaven ; he came with fire ; 
and since all these contain mysteries, St. Luke as a renowned 
painter depicts all that pomp for us who did not behold it 
with mortal eyes. Let us gaze on the picture. 

I. The Holy Ghost came on the day of Pentecost. First, 
to signify that on this day the old law was changed into the 
new. The old law was given to the Jews on Mount Sinai on 
the fiftieth day after the Pasch ; so on the fiftieth day the 
law of grace was given to Christians on Mount Sion, accord- 
ing to the prophecy of (Isaias 2:3): f i for the law shall come 
forth from Sion, and the word of the law from Jernsalem ; " 
as though putting an end to the old law, as the reality puts 

154 



CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COMING OF HOLY GHOST 155 

an end to the shadow and figure ; for the promulgation of 
the old law was a type of the new. Then the mountain 
trembled as with an earthquake shock — now the house of the 
disciples ; then amidst fiery flames and lurid lightning, the 
crash of thunder sounded — now at the sight of tongues of 
fire a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind comes ; then 
the sound of the trumpet went forth — now the evangelical 
trumpet resounds from the mouth of the Apostles. "For 
you are not come to a mountain that might be touched, and 
a burning fire, and a whirlwind, and darkness and storm, 
and the sound of a trumpet . . . but you are come to Mount 
Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru- 
salem, and to the company of many thousands of angels. . . . 
See that you refuse him not that speaketh " (Hebrews 12 : 18, 
22, 25). Surely that was a law of fear ; this a law of love — 
that was written on tables of stone ; this on hearts of flesh. 

Secondly, to signify that from this day begins a plenary 
jubilee of the remission of sins in the whole world ; for the 
number fiftieth, which the word Pentecost means, is the 
number of the jubilee which took place every fifty years, and 
in which each one could return to his original possession 
which had been sold to another (Levit. 25). In the same 
manner, on to-day on which the remission of sins begins to 
be preached, was begun the jubilee of Christians, by which 
each one could return to his original possession, that is, lost 
grace and glory. This is that pleasing year of the Lord 
which Isaias foretold of the time of grace, and which Christ 
himself interpreted, in which all the debts of sin began to be 
destroyed in the fire of the Holy Ghost. Thirdly, to indicate 
that on this day the harvest of Christ begins, and which the 
Lord said was near : " See the countries, for they are white 
already to harvest ... I have sent you to reap, etc." (John 
4). It was customary for the Jews to reap the harvest after 
Pentecost ; so from this day the Apostles began to reap in the 
field of the Church. Fourthly, on the day of Pentecost, the 
first fruits were offered : "Two loaves of the first fruits, of 
two-tenths of flour leavened " (Levit. 23 : 17). On this same 
day two loaves of the first fruits, that is, two peoples began 
to be converted and were baptized ; of two-tenths, that is, 
by the observance of the ten commandments by each people. 
He came at the third hour from the rising of the sun. First, 
because the Apostles and the others were then awake and 
watching ; serious and more fit to receive and consider this 



156 PENTECOST. 

prodigy. Secondly, because that hour among the Jews was 
the hour of prayer. Thirdly, then was promulgated the 
third law ; the first was the law of nature ; the second, the 
law of Moses ; the third, the law of Christ. Fourthly, be- 
cause the Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. 
For this reason the Church, at the third hour of prayer, 
invokes the Holy Ghost. 

II. He came upon them seated together in the same house, 
to signify first, that the Holy Ghost is not given to any but 
those dwelling in the house of the Church of Christ. As 
the dove sent by Noe could not find any place to rest outside 
the Ark, neither can the Holy Ghost outside the Church. 
In vain therefore, do those outside the Church invoke the 
Holy Ghost and his grace ; like those prophets of Baal whom 
Elias laughed at when they were calling in vain for God to 
send down fire to burn the holocaust. " Cry with a loud 
voice for he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an 
inn or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be 
awakened" (3 Kings 18). God was deaf to their cries ; but 
Elias obtained immediately what he prayed for. And so, 
no matter how much heretics may cry out and how much 
they may be by their pastor, they do not receive the Holy 
Ghost because they are not in the house of the Church of 
Christ, outside of which there is no redemption nor forgive- 
ness. Secondly, the Holy Ghost is not given to those burn- 
ing with anger and hatred ; but to those living in peace and 
harmony and brotherly love. " Behold how good and how 
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. . . . 
As the dew of Hermon which descendeth on Mount Sion. 
For there the Lord hath commanded blessing and life for 
evermore" (Ps. 132). Theodoret interprets the dew as 
meaning the Holy Ghost sent to Mount Sion. For dew does 
not fall when a storm is raging, but when everything is calm ; 
so the Holy Ghost does not come to the angry and the 
wicked ; he prefers the quiet and peaceful. Although Mount 
Hermon is divided from Mount Sion by the river Jordan, it 
is however the higher, and denotes heaven or Christ, from 
whom the Holy Ghost descends on Mount Sion, although the 
distance be great between Christ and the Apostles. He 
rested on the Apostles, first to commission them as Doctors of 
the earth and, in a way, to crown them. Secondly, to show 
that in them and their successors he will remain till the end 
of the world according to the promise of Christ, 



CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COMING OF HOLY GHOST. 157 

III. He came suddenly and with great force. First, that 
the miracle of this mission should be evident. Generally be- 
fore thunder becomes deafening lightning is beheld afar off, 
then low rumblings before the mighty crash ; not so on 
Pentecost, tor suddenly a sound came from heaven, not to fill 
all with fear and consternation, and urge them to flee ; but 
to confirm the miracle that could not be gainsaid. This 
sudden sound was as the stroke of a bell which in a public 
necessity is instantly rung to call the people. God wished 
to call the people to the first sermon of the Apostles, that it 
was the word of God not of man that was promulgated. 

Secondly, to signify that the Holy Ghost endows with 
fervor the believers whom he fills, so that they may do all 
things quickly and with despatch. " The grace of the Holy 
Ghost," says St. Ambrose, " does not know straggling under- 
takings." After they had received the Holy Ghost, the 
Apostles began immediately to preach to the people and to 
announce the law of God. Whatever one should do, let him 
do it quickly and promptly. At the sound of the bell go 
immediately to Mass ; having fallen into sin go immediately 
to Confession ; having discovered the occasions of sin, give 
them up immediately. He who acts thus gives evidence 
that he is impelled by the Holy Ghost. Thirdly, to teach us 
to expect the Holy Ghost at all times and prepare our souls 
to receive him, because he comes suddenly and without warn- 
ing, when it pleases him. " The Spirit breath eth where 
he will ; and thou nearest his voice, but thou knowest not 
whence he cometh " (John 3 : 8). Let the sinner not say : I 
will wait till Easter or Christmas to go to Confession ; be- 
cause it is uncertain at what time it may please the Holy 
Ghost to come to remit sin. Therefore the Apostles re- 
mained the whole time indoors, from the Ascension to Pen- 
tecost, expecting the Holy Ghost. The Angel who was 
wont to descend to stir the waters in the pool had no fixed 
time, and consequently the sick were always in Bethsaida 
awaiting the moving of the waters. Since then you do not 
know when the Holy Ghost will breathe, you should be al- 
ways ready to receive him. 

IV. He came with a sound from heaven to indicate first, 
that the sound of the miracles, of the sanctity of the preach- 
ing of the Apostles, was to travel throughout the whole earth, 
according to Ps. 18 : " Their sound hath gone forth into 
all the earth." The same thing was prefigured by the sound 



158 PENTECOST. 

of the trumpets, at which the walls of Jericho were over- 
thrown and leveled to the ground. Origen says : " Jericho 
is destroyed by the trumpets of the priests ; for we see the 
fortifications of the world — the worship of idols, the dogmas 
of pagan philosophers — destroyed by priestly trumpets." 
Christ coming sent his priests carrying the flexible trumpets 
of preaching. Secondly, to denote that the gospel of Christ 
is heavenly, for the sound came from heaven. It could have 
come from the bowels of the earth, but it did not, because 
such a sound indicates the doctrine of heretics. " And the 
Angel opened the bottomless pit : and the smoke of the pit 
arose as the smoke of a great furnace : and the sun and the 
air were darkened with the smoke of the pit. And from the 
smoke of the pit there came out locusts on the earth" 
(Apoc. 9 : 2, 3). The sound made by the motion of the earth 
infests the air and brings pestilence with it, as heresy brings 
a pestilence to souls. Not so the sound coming from heaven, 
which rather purifies the air ; and this the sound of the 
Apostles has done. 

V. He came with a mighty wind, to denote first, the won- 
derful operations of the Holy Ghost. The life of man is pre- 
served by the respiration of air ; so the life of the soul by the 
breathing of the Holy Ghost. As the wind purifies the air, 
so the Holy Ghost purifies the soul from sin. As the wind 
moves ships, so the Holy Ghost moves the hearts of men to 
good works on the road to heaven. As the wind in trumpets 
give forth sound, so the Holy Ghost fills the heart to speak 
and teach heavenly things. Secondly, it denotes that, on 
this day, the boat of the Church began to be launched on 
the deep, and to start on its voyage around the world. This 
little boat remained some time in the upper chamber await- 
ing the wind ; and that having come, began most happily to 
navigate ; for on the first day, it engaged the powerful fleet 
of hell, and captured three thousand pirates. Thirdly, it 
denotes that the Apostles, like the winds, were to traverse 
the earth, purge the world, destroy the idols, strengthen the 
failing hearts of sinners by the gospel, the message that they 
could become the children of God. 

VI. He filled the whole house where they were seated, 
first, to denote the copious replenishing of the Holy Ghost 
granted to the church. He came to Elias in the whistling 
of a gentle breeze (Kings 19) ; to Eliphaz in a whisper (Job 
4) ; to indicate that, in the old law, the Holy Ghost was given 



CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE COMING OF HOLY GHOST. 159 

very sparingly ; but, in the law of grace, he is given with 
great abundance and fulness. Hence the Apostles seemed 
to the Gentiles full of new wine (Acts 2). Truly they were 
filled with the new wine of the Holy Ghost. Compare the 
number of Saints in the new law with those in the old ; the 
miracles, the life and virtues of these with those, and you will 
see the result of the fulness of the Holy Ghost. Secondly, 
as the Holy Ghost filled every corner of the house, so there 
is no corner of the globe in which he has not poured forth 
most profusely. This Joel 2, foretold (as is interpreted by 
St. Peter in his sermon on this day), saying : " I will pour 
out my spirit upon all flesh : and your sons and your daugh- 
ters shall prophesy ; your old men shall dream dreams and 
your young men shall see visions. Moreover, upon my ser- 
vants and handmaids, I will pour forth my Spirit." There 
is almost no spot on earth where the Lord has not Saints. 
Prom the royal throne to the lonely hermitage ; among the 
rich and the poor, the learned and the unlearned. 

VII. He came to Jerusalem. First, because he suffered 
in Jerusalem and was repudiated by the Jews ; he should 
therefore be glorified there through his Spirit, and received 
by at least some of the Jews. The Holy Ghost was the glory 
of Christ, because he showed that he had ascended into 
heaven and that there he was Lord of all. Secondly, to show 
that having abolished Judaism, whose center was Jerusalem, 
he institutes Christianity. For on Pentecost, a new law was 
to be promulgated by the Apostles, and it was necessary that 
it should be publicly announced, and in such a place that it 
could be briefly understood by all the Jews. From that city, as 
from the head of the members, it could easily be disseminated 
throughout the cities of Judaea. For this same reason the 
Apostolic See was placed in Rome, the capital of the 
worLI. 

VIII. He came in the form of a tongue, because the tongue 
is the instrument of speech and preaching. The Holy Ghost 
appointed the Apostles preachers of the gospel, and con- 
ferred on them the gift of tongues, the same as on the Church. 
Secondly, because as from the word of the mind proceeds 
the voice of the tongue, so the Spirit proceeds from the Son. 
Thirdly, becanse as the tongue distinguishes tastes, so the 
Holy Ghost causes men to discern heavenly things from 
earthly things ; true doctrine from false and heretical. 
Fourthly, to instruct Christians and to help them to curb 



160 PENTECOST. 

the tongue, which St. James calls " an inqniet evil full of 
deadly poison." 

IX. In the shape of fiery tongues. First, to show the 
nature of the law of grace which is the law of charity. " In 
his right hand is a fiery law" (Deut. 32). Secondly, to sig- 
nify the effect which the Holy Ghost was to operate in the 
souls of the apostles and of all the faithful ; that he was to 
consume in them sloth, fear, concupiscence and all vices ; 
and was to make them fervent, zealous and as it were, fiery. 
Thirdly, that hy this fire of love and consolation of the Holy 
Ghost, not torturing, not scorching, but rather refreshing 
and exhilarating, they would conquer the burning and de- 
stroying fire of tribulation and persecution. 



TRINITY SUNDAY. 

HOW CHRIST IS ALWAYS WITH HIS CHUKCH. 



I. By preservation. II. By singular direction. III. By special 
protection. IV. By love and benevolence. V. By paternal 
correction. VI. By his presence in the Eucharist. 

" Behold I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world." 

(Matt. 28 : 20.) 

After the Prophet Ezechiel had described the division of 
Jerusalem into twelve gates or exits, he concluded his book 
in these words : " And the name of the city from that day, 
was The Lord is there/' (48 : 35). This imperfectly applies to 
Jerusalem in which God dwelt for a short time, from Esdras 
to Titus and Vespasian ; but it perfectly applies to the 
Church and to it alone, according to St. Jerome and many 
others, because it is the Church alone with which God 
promised in to-day's gospel to constantly abide. After he 
had commanded his Apostles to go forth into the whole 
world : " Going therefore, teach ye all nations, etc" he con- 
cluded his sermon in the words of the text : " Behold I am 
with you, etc." And thus Matthew closes his gospel as 
Ezechiel did his prophecy. The Church, therefore, is that 
city whose name is " the Lord is there." Behold the reasons. 

I. He is always with his Church by preservation, by which 
he keeps it so undefiled that it can never decay. The words 
of the text prove this. For if the Chnrch could decay, how 
would Christ be in it all days even to the consummation of 
the world ? Who could be with him who does not exist ? 
It will not do to say that he spoke of the Apostles only, be- 
cause the Apostles were not to live for all time. In them, 
therefore, he understood, as did the first Christians, the 
whole Church. Whence it is evident first, that the Catholic 
Church is the true Church of Christ ; because it alone comes 

161 



162 TRINITY SUNDAY. 

down in an uninterrupted series from the Apostles, and 
moreover Christ was always with it. As the old heretical 
sects did not begin from Christ, so they were not always with 
him, but perished. It is evident, secondly, that the heretics 
of our day are not in the Church of Christ, because Christ 
was not always with them ; before Luther, they themselves 
did not exist. Let them show the continuation and deriva- 
tion of their faith through each of the ages ; let them show | 
in which centuries who were the Fathers who taught that I 
Christ is not really present in the Eucharist ; that Mass is 
idolatry ; that the Pope is Antichrist ; that the Saints are 
not to be invoked ; that there is no free will ; no merit of 
works ; that God is the author of sin, etc. Since they cannot 
do this, they are forced to say that the Church of Christ could 
and did decay from the time of Gregory the Great to their 
own times. Therefore, according to them, Christ deserted 
his spouse, the Church, for nearly nine hundred years, and 
the gates of hell prevailed against it — the pillar and ground of 
truth. The Mistress of faith and Doctor of truth absconded, 
whom Christ ordered to be sought and listened to in all 
doubts and difficulties. All these are in direct opposition to 
Holy Scripture and make a liar of God. 

II. By a singular direction with which he so directs it that 
it cannot err, and be seduced in matters of faith. — This direc- 
tion is given specially to the Holy Father, so that he cannot 
make and publish decrees unless they be in conformity with 
the true faith. God formerly made a promise to Abraham 
the father of faith : " Fear not, Abraham, I am thy protector " 
(Gen. 15 : 1). The same he made to Peter, the second father of 
faith, and to his successors : " But I have prayed for thee that 
thy faith fail not : and thou being once converted, confirm thy 
brethren " (Luke 22 :32). And this prayer was surely effi- 
cacious for he never permitted any Eoman Pontiff to declare 
or order to be believed anything heretical. The Church was ! 
in great fear when that ambitious and wicked man Vigilius, 
a follower of the heretical Theodora Augusta, was forcibly 
elected to the Papacy ; but to the great astonishment of all, 
he was suddenly changed into another man, he condemned the 
followers of Theodora and, regardless of her snares, Theodora 
herself. It is related that the Holy Ghost appeared in the 
form of a dove to the Pontiffs St. Gregory, Fabian, Eugene 
and Gregory while they were writing decrees. And unless 
there were such direction^ how could the Church continue to 



HOW CHRIST IS ALWAYS WITH HIS CHURCH. 163 

exists since Councils could and did err ? In the other 
ministers of the Church there is this direction lest they should 
err in the administration of the Sacraments, in teaching, 
in hearing confessions, etc. Although it sometimes happens 
that errors are committed by some ; they are rare, however. 
Some may not live exactly as they should, yet the doctrines 
they preach are correct, as is also their administration of the 
Sacraments, 

III. By a special protection. — The hedge planted around a 
vineyard is a sign of this, namely, the guarding of Angels and 
Saints, by whose intervention he is present in the Church in 
afflictions and dangers, no less than formerly in the old law 
by the pillar of fire and of cloud. History supplies indubitable 
proof of this protection afforded the Church in the numerous 
wars waged against her. Let heretics show the same and 
we will believe that Christ is with them. In the face of this 
it certainly would be rash to deny that the Church is the 
repository of the true faith. It will not do to say that they 
were demons who represented the images of Saints ; for how 
could the devil fight for Christ against his own ? It is most 
certain that, by all those victories, the kingdom of Christ 
was greatly enlarged, while that of the devil was lessened. 
Are not the devils always fighting among themselves ? How, 
therefore, can their kingdom stand ? And even though there 
be no harmony among them, yet they are united against 
Christ. 

IV. By love and benevolence which encircles it above all 
the kingdoms of other sects. — He protected and exalted in 
a special manner the Princes who defended the Catholic 
Church. Constantine and Charles both surnamed Great, in- 
trepid defenders of the Church, by the aid of God, achieved 
wonderful things and ruled with remarkable happiness. St. 
Augustine says : " God showered so many earthly gifts on 
Constantine, who did not seek aid from the demons, but who 
worshipped God himself, as no one could dare to wish for. 
He held and defended the whole Eoman world ; in carrying 
on wars, he was most victorious ; in routing tyrants, he was 
most fortunate ; dying of old age, he left his sons rulers." 
God so favored the elder Theodosius that, during the battle, 
the weapons of the enemy were turned on themselves ; while 
the younger was at home praying, his army was victorious, 
and about one hundred thousand Saracens were hurled by 
Angels into the Euphrates, says Socrates. The Emperor 



1G4 TRINITY SUNDAY. 

Honorius, by the aid of God, in one battle destroyed more 
than one hundred thousand Goths, and did not lose one of 
his own. As long as Justinian and Heraclins adhered to the 
faith, they were victorious ; but as soon as they fell, their 
kingdoms dwindled. In modern times this protection was 
so apparent that the enemies of the Church declared God to 
be a Papist ; Goliath can be killed with his own sword. We 
are thankful for this testimony, that God at some time at 
least was a Papist ; if at some time, he always was and 
always will be, for he says: "Iain God, and I do not 
change.'" 

Y. By paternal correction. — For as a father shows great 
signs of love for his son nevertheless he chastises him whom 
he loves, so as to withdraw him from vice and urge him on 
to virtue ; so Christ acts with his Church, for which he fore- 
told all manner of persecutions and adversities. It is he of 
whom St. John Baptist says : " The winnowing fan is in his 
hand, and he shall clean up his threshing-floor." For when, 
through a long reign of peace and quiet in the Church, vices 
are apt to grow, then Christ takes the winnowing fan to clean 
up. When, during the reign of the Christian Emperor, Philip 
I., the virtue and vigor of the faithful were languishing in 
peace, God sent Decius and Valerian to arouse them by dire 
persecution. Eusebius gives, as the cause of the persecution 
of Diocletian, the corrupt morals of Ecclesiastics and laics, 
fostered by long continued peace and liberty. Therefore in 
time of peace and prosperity, a great deal of chaff grew in 
the Church. And therefore the fan of tribulation is used to 
separate the chaff from the wheat ; to destroy the former and 
to preserve the latter. As in the time of Decius, at the first 
threatening word of the enemy, very many of the faithful 
lost their faith ; nor were they overcome by the force of per- 
secution, as though this was what they had always been 
looking for ; so it happened in the time of Luther, Zwingli 
and Calvin. The faithful were given up to luxury, ambition, 
avarice, contempt for sacred things,neglect of the Sacraments, 
etc. ; and therefore God wished to clean the floor. Men be- 
came like chaff, fickle and ready to embrace any doctrine ; 
ready to fly with a favorable wind, — and they did fly from 
the Church ; the rest were confirmed in the faith. So that, 
in a few years, he again cleaned his Church, when he began 
to afflict and oppress her by heretical inmates who threw the 
Catholics from the windows, banished them into exile and 



HOW CHRIST IS ALWAYS WITH HIS CHURCH. 165 

put them to death. This was a paternal chastisement, for, 
with the war in Germany, he sifted the wheat of Catholics, 
and shook out the chaff of heretics from Austria, Bohemia, 
the Palatinate, etc. 

VI. By the real presence in the Holy Eucharist. — In this 
wonderful and special manner, he wished to remain always 
with his Church. First, for as in heaven, he is adored by the 
blessed spirits ; so on earth, he should be more earnestly 
adored by us ; although he is clearly perceived by those ; by 
us obscurely only and through faith. The presence of a 
General has much to do with keeping his soldiers in obedience, 
fear and discipline, when it is known he is present. It is 
fitting, therefore, since the Church is the same militant and 
triumphant that she should most earnestly worship and adore 
her king in both places. Otherwise many would think and 
say with Eliphaz : " The clouds are his covert, and he doth 
not consider our things, and he walketh about the poles of 
heaven " (Job 22 : 14). Even on earth, we have our God 
and we can say with Chrysostom : " While we are in this life, 
this mystery makes earth a heaven for us." 

Secondly, that, when afflicted and cast down, we should fly 
to him with greater confidence and hope for aid. For this rea- 
son, in the old law, God wished the Ark to be built like a tri- 
umphal car, in which he showed his presence, his power and his 
glorious triumph. Hence Moses says, " Neither is there any 
other nation so great, that hath gods so nigh them as our God 
is present to all our petitions " (Deut. 7:4). With much more 
truth can we Christians say this, with whom Christ God 
and man, truly and corporally dwells in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment. When David went to the cave of Odollam all his 
father's house went with him, and he became the Prince of 
the afflicted ; and all that were in distress and oppressed with 
debt and under affliction of mind gathered themselves under 
him and he became their Prince (1 Kings 22 : 2). So 
Christ in the Eucharist which is a memorial of his death ; 
as Odollam signifies a testimony of his misery, — and there 
he is always ready to receive the afflicted and heart saddened. 
" Trust in him all ye congregation of people ; put oat your 
hearts before him : God is our helper forever (Ps. 61 : 9). 
Either Christ could not permanently be in the Eucharist 
or did not wish to be. He could not ? How then is he om- 
nipotent ? How can he be there when he is received ? He 
did not wish to be ? But he is our highest good, and what 



166 TRINITY SUNDAY. 

is more conformable to his goodness than this glorious and 
saving institution ? 

Thirdly, that by his presence, he might animate us to 
fight against the wiles of the devil, and bravely suffer all 
kinds of adversity. St. Peter, seeing his wife led to death, 
encouraged her saying: "Remember your Lord." Let us 
also remember Christ present in the Eucharist. 

Fourthly, that we should constantly remember him. When 
a friend is about to depart, he generally leaves a token of 
remembrance. When Christ was about to leave us and as- 
cend into heaven, he left us his body, wonderfully enclosed 
in the Sacrament of his love. 

Fifthly, to prove our faith, devotion and religion towards 
himself ; and that, not so much for his own glory as for our 
benefit. As he blessed the house of Obededom because he 
received the Ark of the Covenant into his house and rever- 
ently kept it there ; so he is disposed to bless us, if we becom- 
ingly worship him as our king, and as courtiers, wait on his 
table. 

He wishes to prove whether we believe the Son of God as- 
serting that he is in the Holy Eucharist, as we in our first 
parents believed the serpent asserting that in the tree of life 
was power of deifying us. He wishes to prove with what 
reverence we assist at Mass ; how eagerly and how often we 
approach the holy table ; what devotion and preparation we 
bring to it ; with what humility we adore him ; how fre- 
quently we visit him to tell him all our trials and seek his 
help. At the last day, he shall say to his faithful ones : ( ' I 
was your guest on earth ; I was naked and a captive ; you 
clothed me and visited me ; come ye blessed." And to the 
wicked : " I was naked and a captive, and you did not clothe 
me, nor visit me ; depart from me." 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

THE HOLY EUCHAKIST IS A GKEAT SUPPEE. 



I. On account of Christ, who instituted it. II. The great number of 
those invited. III. The choice food. IV. Its great necessity. 
V. Its great utility. It strengthens for martyrdom ; it arms 
against enemies ; it strengthens the weak ; it sustains some 
without corporal food. VI. Its great danger. 

" A certain man made a great supper." (Luke 14 : 16.) 

Not in vain did the Holy Ghost wish to be described and 
depicted in so many colors, the great banquet of Assuerus, of 
which we read in the book of Esther. It prefigured the 
Eucharist which Christ instituted before his passion, and of 
which the Church sings : " sacred banquet in which Christ 
is received." By Assuerus, which is interpreted prince or 
head, we understand Christ who is the Prince of Kings 
and of earth, and the head of all men. 

The city Susan in which the banquet was held, designates 
the Church ; for Susan signifies lily ; and of the Church, 
the Spouse says: "As a lily among thorns, so is my 
love among the daughters " (Cantic. 2 : 2). The tabernacles, 
under which very many tables were prepared for the banquet, 
denote the various dioceses in which are many parishes. The 
banquet given in the court of the royal garden signifies the 
banquet of the Church militant given in the court of the 
Church triumphant ; it is but a step from the former to the 
latter. Justly we call this banquet a great supper, because 
it is greater by far and more excellent than the banquet of 
Assuerus, which we will now show. 

I. Because he is great who invites and gives the supper, 
Christ God. Assuerus was the greatest king of his time 
(Esther 11 : 13) ; but Christ more truly and absolutely is the 
greatest of all kings. First, because he was king from all 
eternity ; and moreover he was born a king, as the Magi say : 

167 



108 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

" Where is he that is born king ? " (Matt. 2 : 2). Secondly, 
because he himself created all other kings, for he says : " By 
me kings reign " (Prov. 8 : 15). Thirdly, because his king- 
dom is not perishable as those of other kings, but eternal. 
"Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all ages" (Ps. 144:13). 
Fourthly, because it is universal. All other kings are his 
servants and vassals. " And all the kings of the earth shall 
adore him : all nations shall serve him " (Ps. 71 : 11). If it 
be considered something great to be invited by a king to a 
banquet ; it certainly is more for us to be invited by the 
King of kings. A man counted himself first among the 
princes of Assuerus, because he was invited to the banquet 
by the King and Queen. "And after this he said : Queen 
Esther also hath invited me : and with her also I am to dine 
to-morrow with the king " (Esther 5 : 12). Have we not a 
greater right to rejoice who have been invited by the Son of 
God himself ? Assuerus gave that banquet for two reasons. 
First, to show the power and riches of the glory of his king- 
dom. Secondly, on account of the beginning of his reign in 
Susan, for according to the Hebrew, Susan was the imperial 
city. Christ likewise instituted his supper, first, on account 
of the beginning of his reign, which he fully commenced in 
his passion, when he placed his throne on the cross. There- 
fore, immediately before his passion, he instituted a memo- 
rial of his passion, in which he gave himself up to death as 
food for us, as he gives himself to us in the Eucharist. 
Secondly, to show in the Eucharist the riches of his power, 
wisdom and goodness. Of his power, because by his only 
word, and in a moment, he performed many miracles as well 
in the bread as in his body ; when he changed bread into 
his body, when he sustained the accidents without the sub- 
stance ; when he constituted a whole in the smallest particle, 
etc. Of his goodness and charity, because he gave himself 
to us as our food and with himself everything : virtues, merit, 
glory. Of his wisdom, because he formed an ineffable man- 
ner of communicating himself to us and intimately uniting 
himself to men ; so that by him and in him we live, as the 
branches on the vine. 

II. Because very many have been invited. — Assuerus in- 
vited to his banquet all the princes and their children ; and 
all the people to be found in Susan from the greatest to the 
least. Greater by far is the banquet of Christ. He prepared 
it first, for the Apostles, and through them afterwards invited 



THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS A GREAT SUPPER. 109 

to it the whole world, and he extends the same invitation to-day 
to all the faithful without distinction. The highest and the 
lowest are welcome ; the same amount of food is there for 
each one. Even after all these centuries and after so many 
millions have banqueted, there is no diminution in the 
supply, but an over abundance for all. The banquet of 
Assuerus lasted for one hundred and eighty days ; the ban- 
quet of Christ has already lasted nineteen hundred years 
and will last to the end of time. One was allowed to 
enjoy the banquet of Assuerus only once ; but he is allowed 
to enjoy the banquet of Christ as often as he pleases. Then, 
as in the banquet of Assuerus, there were many servers whom 
Josephus calls deacons, so in the Church there are by far 
more servers of the Holy Eucharist ; priests and deacons 
ordained specially for this, and endowed with a heavenly 
character, who preside at the table of the Lord and who care- 
fully instruct those who approach it. 

III. Because the food is most choice. — In the banquet of 
Assuerus, there were various kinds of choice food served in 
the most costly vessels. The best of wine was in abundance. 
In the banquet of Christ, the food and drink are so choice 
that there can be nothing more excellent. First, Christ is 
there with his divinity, which is the fountain of all good. 
Secondly, with his soul most full of wisdom, grace and virtue ; 
by its perfection surpassing all creatures. Thirdly, with his 
blessed flesh formed by the Holy Ghost from the virginal 
flesh of his mother, and hypostatically united to his divinity. 
Fourthly, with his most precious blood shed for us : one drop 
of which is of infinite value and more precious than all the 
merits of all the Saints. "What greater delicacies could we 
wish for ? "A great misery," says St. Francis, " and a de- 
plorable weakness, when you have Christ himself present, and 
you desire something else in this world. Let every man fear, 
and the whole world tremble, and the heavens rejoice when 
Christ the Son of the living God is in the hands of the priest 
on the altar." Then the Eucharist is made in a wonder- 
ful manner. First, by consecration, with one word and in 
a moment, bread is changed into the body of Christ. 
Secondly, the accidents of bread remain without the sub- 
stance. Thirdly, Christ with his whole natural quantity is 
in each small host, and in each particle of it, if it be broken. 
Fourthly, he is in all places at the same time, wherever there 
are consecrated hosts. Fifthly, in the host he does not suffer 



170 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

though it be broken or burnt. Sixthly, this food remains 
always the same to-day as on the day of its institution. 

IV. Because this supper is very necessary for all. — In the 
banquet of Assuerus, the queen did not wish to obey the com- 
mand of the king, and so incurred his anger, and was repu- 
diated by him. They may expect the same from Christ who 
despise his supper. In this sense we can understand, as we 
read in the Gospel, what the angry master of the house said 
to his servants : " None of those men that were invited shall 
taste of my supper/' This will happen to those who refuse 
to receive the Holy Eucharist at Easter time and at the hour 
of death. Of it the Lord says : " Except you eat the flesh 
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you shall not have life 
in you " (John 6 : 54). The Eucharist was instituted by Christ 
as a necessary provision for our journey, for without it (at 
least in desire) we cannot reach our heavenly country. Christ 
seems to have alluded to this when he said : " I have com- 
passion on the multitude for they have nothing to eat, and if 
I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in 
the way " (Mark 8:2). For as the body cannot live long 
without corporal food, but it soon weakens and falls : so also 
the soul cannot exist without spiritual food. The Eucharist 
was prefigured in that bread, with which Elias was nourished 
by an Angel. " And he walked in the strength of that food 
forty days and forty nights unto the Mount of God, Horeb " 
(3 Kings. 19 : 8.) 

V. Because it is of the greatest utility. In his banquet, 
Assuerus wished to exhilarate the guests ; to engage himself 
with and delight in the displayed beauty of bis queen. But 
greater by far is the fruit of the supper of Christ the Lord. 
Besides its ordinary effects, it produces wonderful and extraor- 
dinary ones. First, it formerly strengthened the martyrs 
and animated them to bravely endure all hardships ; and for 
this reason, during the time of persecution, they were 
allowed to carry the Eucharist home with them, that they 
might receive it immediately before their martyrdom ; this 
was also granted by the Pope to Mary, Queen of Scots, who 
had been deprived of the services of a priest. For the same 
reason, Anacleus decreed that all Christians assisting at Mass 
should communicate on account of the fierce persecution of 
Trajan. 

Secondly, it armed the Christians against their enemies 
and prepared them for victory. History records many 



THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS A GREAT SUPPER. 171 

astounding victories for the Christian arms through the 
aid of the Holy Eucharist. Among others, is the remarkable 
victory gained by Alphonsus VIII,. King of Castile, over the 
Saracens, on July 16, 1212. Over two hundred thousand 
Saracens were destroyed, while the Christians lost but twenty- 
five. This victory is celebrated to this day in Spain, and is 
called the "triumph of the cross." In the year 834, when 
King Ramirus, wounded, betook himself to the mountains and 
besought God for aid, St. James appeared to him ordering 
all his soldiers to go to confession and Communion ; then, 
seated on a white horse at their head, he charged the enemy, 
who were completely routed, with seventy thousand Moors 
dead on the field. On account of this, the Spanish soldiers 
worship St. James as their patron Saint. 

Thirdly, it strengthens the weak, as is shown by many 
examples in the lives of the Saints. Fourthly, it sustains life 
even without the assistance of corporal food. It sustained 
the Emperor Louis the Pious for forty days ; a girl, in 
the reign of Tully, for three years. Even in our own day, 
we know of its wonderful effect in the case of Louise Lateau. 

VI. Because it is most dangerous to receive it unworthily. 
In the banquet of Assuerus, there was abundance of royal 
wine which was of the best, and because it was most dangerous 
to drink much of it, the king ordered that no one should 
force another to drink it. Likewise in the supper of Christ 
it is common bread and wine, but royal, that is celestial, 
angelic, divine. Of such wine Christ spoke : " No man 
putteth new wine into old bottles, otherwise the wine will 
burst the bottles " (Mark 2 : 22). New wine is the Eucharist, 
and because Judas received it unworthily (it is probable 
according to St. Luke and St. Augustine that he received it) 
he went and hanged himself. 

Wherefore the Apostle orders the body of the Lord to be 
discerned, that is, not to be taken as common bread, " For 
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh 
judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord" 
(1 Cor. 11 : 29). He confirms this later : " Therefore are 
there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep ; " 
that is, they become sick and die because they have com- 
municated unworthily. Formerly, many on account of this 
sin were sorely punished by the devil. The Eucharist is 
death to the wicked, and life to the just. Honey is harmful 
to the choleric, and beneficial to the phlegmatic. The same 



172 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

pillar that illumined the Hebrews cast darkness over the 
Egyptians. From the same fount the Hebrews drank clear 
water ; but the Egyptians blood, as Josephus writes. From 
the same flower the bee extracts honey, while the spider 
extracts poison. Wherefore, lest we drink death at the fount 
of salvation, let each one purify himself and thus eat of that 
bread. Since, therefore, this supper is so great, let our 
reverence for it be great also ; great piety and devotion in 
adoring it, great humility and abjection in venerating it ; 
great preparation for receiving it. 



THIED SUNDAY AFTEE PENTECOST. 

POWER AND EFFICACY OF PENANCE. 



I. It destroys sin. II. Restores grace. III. Restores good works 
that were dead. VI. Renders the conscience tranquil. V. 
Restores reputation. VI. Changes the decree of God. VII. 
Changes one into another man. VIII. Edifies our neighbor. 
IX. Bears violence against heaven. 

" Now the publicans and sinners drew near unto him." (Luke. 15 : 1.) 

Happy publicans, happy sinners, who draw near to Christ ! 
By this they deserved that Christ should draw near to them. 
As St. James says : " Draw near to God, and he will draw 
near to you " (4:8). But how can we draw near to God ? 
The same apostle answers : " Cleanse your hands, ye sinners : 
and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. Be afflicted and 
mourn and weep ; let your laughter be turned into mourn- 
ing, and your joy into sorrow." This is as if he had said : 
Do penance ; cast out sin from your hands and heart. By 
this means Magdalene approached Jesus ; and undoubtedly 
also the publicans and sinners in to-day's gospel. Let us 
consider the power and efficacy of penance ; so that following 
their example we also may approach Christ. The efficacy of 
penance we learn from the parable of the prodigal son, which 
follows those of the shepherd and of the woman. The son 
entered into himself, returned to his father and was received 
with a paternal embrace ; which indicates that the sinner 
through penance, his sins having been wiped out, will be 
reconciled to God. He was clothed with the first robe, and 
this is the first grace justifying and adorning the soul of the 
sinner. A ring was put on his hand, and this indicates the 
principle of good actions by which the justified can merit 

173 



174: THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

heaven, and also the restoration of actions formerly dead by 
sin. A banquet was prepared for him ; this indicates peace 
and tranquillity of conscience, because a secure mind is like 
a continual feast (Prov. 15 : 15). Shoes were placed on his 
feet, and those denote a good name ; for formerly only f reed- 
men wore shoes ; the slaves were barefoot. His father fell 
upon his neck ; this signifies that God changes his decree 
towards the justified. The fatted calf was killed for him ; 
as by penance the sinner in a way is killed, and the just 
created. That banquet was a joyous one for him ; so the 
penitent delights and edifies his neighbor. 

I. It destroys sin according to the words of Christ : 
" Whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in 
heaven." — Such is its efficacy that it destroys sins and does 
not permit them to return even if one commit them again, 
although such a one sins more gravely. "For the gifts of 
God are without repentance " (Rom. 11 : 29). " He will cast 
all our sins into the bottom of the sea" (Mich. 7 : 19). A 
stone cast into the sea does not rise again ; so neither sins 
once steeped in the blood of Christ by penance. Moses said 
to the Israelites about Pharaohs army already submerged in 
the Red sea : "The Egyptians whom you now see, you will 
never see again," for they were all drowned ; so sins are so 
drowned in the blood of Christ that they can never return. 
God will blot them from his memory, as we read in Ezechiel : 
" If the wicked do penance for all his sins, I will not remem- 
ber all his iniquities " (18 : 21). As a confirmation of this, we 
do not read that Christ, after his resurrection, accused Peter 
of having denied him, nor the Apostles for having abandoned 
him ; but all these sins, already atoned for, he buried in the 
deepest silence. Finally, penance destroys not one sin alone 
but all sins. And as all the Egyptians were drowned, for not 
one escaped ; so all mortal sins are destroyed by penance, and 
not only all that we confess but also those which, through igno- 
rance or forgetf ulness, or any other blameless cause, we omit ; 
for the gifts and judgments of God are perfect and entire. 

II. It restores to man first grace and spiritual life of the 
soul ; original health and beauty ; the gifts and supernatural 
virtues received in Baptism. — As all leprosy was washed from 
Naam while bathing in the Jordan, " and his flesh was 
restored to him, as the flesh of a little boy " (4 Kings 5 : 14), 
so the soul in that purity, which is similar or equivalent to 
innocence, is restored to the penitent. We know that Mag- 



POWER AND EFFICACY OF PENANCE. 175 

dalene after penance was loved by Christ in preference to 
others. Peter was raised to the highest dignity in the 
Church, and was more beloved than others ; so much so that 
he acquired more by penance than he lost by sinning. Na- 
buchodonasor, after he had done penance, returned to him- 
self, and acknowledged and glorified the true God whom 
he denied before ; and it is probable that he so died and 
was saved. Many have labored to find the philosopher's 
stone, by whose touch all things were turned into gold; 
but as yet, it has not been found. Penance, however, is such 
a stone, through which the soul, that was dead, comes to life ; 
what was horrid becomes beautiful ; all its moral works, that 
before were brass, become golden and meritorious of eternal 
life ; so that a drink of cold water given to the thirsty has 
its reward in heaven. 

III. It restores the good works that were dead through sin, 
and their merits and rights to formerly deserved crowns of 
glory. It renews the spiritual marriage of the Holy Ghost 
with the soul ; and moreover restores to the soul as a spouse 
the ornaments which God had sriven it. Our heavenly Father 
knew that he placed the treasures of his grace in frail vessels 
which are easily broken, and that it would be a great affliction 
to his servants if all their past labor were in vain ; therefore 
in the vessel repaired by penance he replaced the treasure 
which it had contained. This he promised them (in a mys- 
tical sense) by Joel when he said : " And I will restore to you 
the years which the locust and the bruchus and the mildew 
and the palmer-worm have eaten " (Joel 2 : 25). Who does 
not know the damage wrought to gardens and crops by these 
animals ? Of the Egyptian locusts we read : " And they cov- 
ered the whole face of the earth, wasting all things. And 
the grass of the earth was devoured and what fruits soever 
on the trees, which the hail had left : and there remained 
not anything that was green on the trees or in the herbs of 
the earth of all Egypt " (Exod. 10:15). In the same way, 
mortal sin in a moment feeds on the soul, be it ever so adorned 
with all the splendor of virtue. " If the just man turn him- 
self away from his justice and do iniquity, all his justices 
which he hath done shall not be remembered" (Ezech. 18 : 24). 
But penance restores all that sin had destroyed. 

IV. It renders the conscience tranquil and serene and more 
delightful than any banquet. For as the air which was 
dense and obscure by clouds becomes serene after it hag 



176 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

lightened them by rain ; so our soul, led in the darkness of 
sins, becomes tranquil, joyful and delightful when it casts 
them down and pours them into the ears of the confessor. 
Job testifies to this : " If thou wilt put away from thee the 
iniquity that is in thy hand, and let not injustice remain in 
thy tabernacle : then mayst thou lift up thy face without 
spot, and thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear. Thou 
shalt also forget misery and remember it only as waters that 
are passed away. And brightness like that of the noon-day 
shall arise to thee at evening : and when thou shalt think 
thyself consumed, thou shalt rise as the day-star. And thou 
shalt have confidence, hope being set before thee, and being 
buried thou shalt sleep secure. Thou shalt rest and there 
shall be none to make thee afraid" (Job 11 : 14-19). By all 
these, he describes the joy of the man who through penance 
has extricated himself from the net of sin. When the Ark 
of the Lord was brought back to Cariathiarim from Philistine 
captivity, "all the house of Israel rested following the Lord" 
(1 Kings 7:2); that is, they lived in great quiet and tran- 
quillity. So when one, snatched from the captivity of Satan, 
has recovered the grace of God, how can he but have peace 
and quiet of mind. Certainly when the good thief heard the 
words : " This day thou shalt be with me in paradise," he was 
satisfied, and sought nothing else, neither relaxation of pain, 
nor a hastening of death, nor envy toward the Jews. With 
what joy of mind and what equanimity did he pass the re- 
maining moments of life on the cross ! What a river of joys 
flooded his heart, when he heard the voice of Christ ! He, 
who before could scarcely examine his conscience for the 
horror of sin, after absolution retires in joy and rests serene 
in the recesses of his heart. 

V. It restores the good name which sin had taken away. 
As a tree, that has been injured in any part of the trunk, 
soon covers the wound with a new growth of bark, that no 
trace of the injury is left ; so penance and a correction of 
morals makes amends for a former bad name, and restores his 
honor to the fallen one. Such was the case with David, 
Magdalene, Matthew, Zachaeus, Peter, Paul and others of 
whose sanctity only we speak, not of their sins of which in 
after life they repented. Adam and Eve as a sign of repent- 
ance clothed themselves with fig leaves, because as St. 
Irenseus says : they were more tormenting to the flesh than 
any others ; a species as it were of hair-cloth, Wherefore, if 



POWER AND EFFICACY OF PENANCE. 177 

the sinuer strives to make reparation for his crimes, God will 
soon come to him and clothe him with honor and esteem, so 
that he may again appear among men. And these are the 
shoes of the prodigal son with which he walks not as a slave 
but as a freeborn. 

VI. It changes the decree of God, as Jeremias says speak- 
ing in the person of God : " If that nation against which I 
have spoken, shall repent of their evil, I also will repent of 
the evil that I have thought to do them " (18 : 8). He proved 
this in the case of the Ninivites who listened to the preaching 
of Jonas, and who punished themselves in sackcloth and 
ashes. " God had mercy with regard to the evil which he 
had said he would do to them, and he did it not" (Jonas 3 : 10). 
See how the penance of the Ninivites wrenched the rod from 
God and changed his decree. Tertullian says: "Inasmuch 
as you do not spare yourself, in so much will God spare you." 
St. Gregory calls penance the city of refuge, because the sin- 
ner fleeing to it is free from death and the anger of God. 

VII. It changes one into another man from the carnal to 
the spiritual, from a beast of lust into a man. An example 
of this was JSTabuchodonosor, who, on account of his sins, was 
cast out from among men, in the woods among beasts ; 
crawled on hands and feet and fed like an animal. After- 
wards, being restored and coming to himself and penitent, 
he put on the species of man and the dignity of king (Dan. 4). 
So, true and sincere repentance disrobes man of beastly habits 
and clothes him with human ones. 

VIII. It edifies our neighbor. In the old law, whatever 
touched the flesh of the holocaust was sanctified ; signifying 
that the groans of the penitent cleanse the imitator. 

IX. Finally, it bears violence against heaven, and this was 
foreshadowed in the old law, while once a year on the day 
of expiation, the people afflicted themselves with fasting and 
penance, and the high priest entered the holy of holies 
(Levit. 16). This indicates that the way to heaven is opened 
by penance. Since penance is such a powerful battering 
ram, let us use it effectively to destroy the walls of heaven. 
This salutary means is given us by God himself. 

z 



FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

PETER'S BOAT A TYPE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



I. In the Church Peter is the ruler and his successors. II. In the 
Church is the pure word of God. III. In the Church are true 
miracles. IV. In the Church there is one visible head. V. The 
Church is led into the deep. VI. By the Church the faith is 
propagated everywhere. VII. The Church has the calling and 
governing of ministers. VIII. From the Church heretics recede. 
IX. The Church is tempest tossed, but does not sink. 

" And going into one of the ships that was Simon's " (Luke 5 ; 8). 

When" God wished to send Moses into Egypt to be the 
leader of the Hebrew people in their flight from Egypt to the 
promised land, he first showed him by a figure the type of 
people he was to govern and also of his own ruling. He 
showed him a bush which was burning but was not consumed ; 
and this signified the Hebrew people, who under Pharao 
were burning from Egyptian scourgings and burdens, who, 
however, were not destroyed but rather so strengthened that 
by many and various plagues they had wounded the Egyptians, 
by whom they were persecuted. He then showed him 
another. When he let fall the rod he was carrying, it was 
turned into a serpent. This signified that that same people, 
who under Pharao crawled as a serpent, under the rule of 
Moses would be restored to their original liberty and power. 
Symbolically it denoted the power of Moses, by which he 
was to punish the Egyptians ; but to rule the Hebrews ; so 
that the rod was a serpent to the Egyptians ; but a shepherd's 
crook to the Hebrews. Eor the same reason in to-day's 
gospel, Christ, about to designate Peter as supreme ruler and 
pastor of his people, showed him the miracle of the wonderful 
draught of fishes ; and by that clearly placed before him a 
type of his future rule, and of the Church which he was to 
capture and govern for all time. 

178 



PETER'S BOAT A TYPE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 179 

I. Christ went into one of the ships which was Simon's, not 
into the other which was near it. He certainly had an object 
in view in this choice, for he wished to indicate that he was 
to be found in that Church alone which is governed by Peter 
and his successors. St. Ambrose says : " Christ went into that 
boat alone of the Church of which Peter is the ruler/' 
Whence the Eoman Pontiff has on his ring and seal a boat 
with Peter as captain. The other boat signifies a false 
religion, which is not named nor is it said whose it would be, 
because nowhere are they with God who are outside the 
Church. There are many such ships along the shores of this 
world — the Lutheran, Calvinist, Hussite, etc., all which call 
to the people and promise to bring them safely to heaven ; but 
if you wish to be safe, climb into that boat into which Christ 
went and which is governed by Peter and his successors. 
Meaningly one is said, because the Church of Christ should 
be one, and because she alone is the spouse of Christ, who is 
not a bigamist (Cant. 6:8); because there is " one Lord, 
one baptism, one God and Father " (1 Cor. : 12) ; because 
all its members dispersed throughout the whole earth are 
most tightly bound together in one body under Christ their 
head ; and this Christ prayed for : li Father, preserve them 
as one as we are one." Hence they most gravely err who 
believe that they can be saved in any faith whatsoever. All 
the sects are in error and cannot exist in peace, since they 
are without a visible head and supreme arbitrator of con- 
troversies ; and as long as they believe in the private inter- 
pretation of Scripture. 

II. From this ship Christ teaches the people, and that 
seated, that is paternally, without intermission through his 
preachers. Because only in the ship of Peter, or the Church 
of Eome, has the pure word of God been preached through 
all ages ; and indeed we can show doctors of our faith from 
the time of the Apostles to our own. JSTo sect can do that. 
In it alone are washed and cleansed the nets of Scripture and 
of holy dogmas. The other sects corrupt the Scriptures and 
have dogmas filled with the filth of impurities. 

III. In Peter's ship, the Lord confirms his sermon by the 
miraculous draught of fishes. Likewise in the Church the 
evangelical preaching has been confirmed by miracles in all 
ages ; by the casting out of devils, by the raising the dead, 
by the spirit of prophecy, etc. ; and this was necessary since 
a new doctrine is brought to introduce a new religion. If 



180 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

testimonial letters are not believed, unless they have the ap- 
pended seal, much less will there be faith in a new gospel 
unconfirmed by any miracle ; since very many mysteries of 
faith surpass our intellect, natural arguments will not suffice 
to confirm them : supernatural ones are required. Hence 
Mark says of the Apostles : " But they going forth preached 
everywhere : the Lord working withal, and confirming the 
word with signs that followed " (16 : 20). Paul says of him- 
self : " Yet the signs of my apostleship have been wrought 
in you, in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds" 
(2 Cor. 12 : 12). Therefore, the Apostles everywhere should 
show this seal and prove their doctrine and mission. Now 
in the Catholic Church it is clear that in each age many mir- 
acles have been wrought, and if, as may be said, they were per- 
formed through the aid of the devil, the whole world will cry 
out because, moved by many and powerful arguments, it 
looked on them as true miracles wrought by the power of 
God. Many of them were written of by holy men. Those of 
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus by St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. 
Basil ; of St. Benedict by St. Gregory the Great ; of St. 
Hilarion by St. Jerome ; of St. Malachy by St. Bernard ; of 
St. Francis by St. Bonaventure of whom St. Thomas said : 
" Let us permit a Saint to work for a Saint." The writings 
of these authorities have never been refuted. If miracles 
were to be rejected, all history should be rejected. Secondly, 
they were not wrought by aid of the devil, because they were 
wrought by holy men ; many surpassed the power of the 
devil, such as the raising the dead ; they have continued, 
those of the devil do not last ; if the devil wrought them to 
hold Catholics in error, why does he not do the same for 
other heretics, if Catholics are heretics ? On the contrary, 
the founders of different sects cannot produce one miracle to 
confirm their faith, unless it be to pervert for a short time 
the voluptuous to that religion which encourages the liberty 
of the flesh, enkindles the fires of vice, and excludes sanctity 
and austerity of life. 

IV. In this ship there is only one Captain, to whom it is 
said : " Launch into the deep ;" he is the only one asked to 
loose the ship from her moorings. So also in the Church there 
is and should be a supreme, visible head, Peter or his suc- 
cessor. For as in a ship, there should be only one Captain, lest 
there should be discord and certain destruction awaiting it ; 
go in the Church, where there is not one supreme ruler, nee- 



PETER'S BOAT A TYPE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 181 

essarily numerous schisms arise, and such a kingdom divided 
among itself cannot stand. As the foxes of Samson, bound 
by the tails, but separated by the heads, destroyed the crops 
of the Philistines, so that religion which has not one head but 
many or none at all ruins everything ; while one interprets 
Scripture one way, another, another, each one sets himself 
up as a judge in controversies of faith. Therefore, Christ, 
foreseeing this, appointed Peter supreme pastor and judge of 
all controversies, to whom especially he gave the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, whom he ordered to feed his sheep ; 
whom he promised assistance ; the same he intimated in to- 
day's gospel: " Launch out into the deep. From hence- 
forth thou shalt catch men ; " catch not lose them. 

V. This ship is ordered to be launched and it is launched 
by Peter, into the deep ; first into the capital of the world, 
Eome, so that from there the Church and the faith of Christ 
(for men of all nations were found there) could more easily 
reach the peoples of the whole world ; or as St. Leo says : 
" Most Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, repaired to the 
citadel of Eome so that the light of the truth, which was re- 
vealed for the salvation of all, should more efficaciously diffuse 
itself as from the head to the entire body of the world." As 
the tower of Pharao near Alexandria showed the port to nav- 
igators, so the Church of Rome. And who will not ascribe 
it to a singular providence of God, that Rome, the head of the 
world, became the head of the Pontiff without force or arms ? 
Secondly, into the deep, that is, perfection of life, to which 
the Church leads according to the words of Christ. In it 
there have always been many who, through voluntary poverty, 
chastity and obedience, have followed the evangelical coun- 
sels to which the Lord invited that young man : "If you wish 
to be perfect, go sell what thou hast, etc. "; and as so many 
religious orders show in which God is served and praised 
day and night. On the other hand, other sects, especially in 
our times, do not launch out into the deep because they not 
only do not follow the evangelical counsels nor persuade others 
to do so, but they even despise them and dissuade others 
from them. No one is found among them who renounces his 
possessions and honors, and embraces poverty and humility for 
the love of Christ ; who forswears carnal pleasures for a life 
of virginity ; who subjects his will to the will of another. All 
these they condemn, and if their pastor is not married they 
suspect him of leaning towards the Catholic faith. Thirdly, 



182 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST?. 

into the deep, that is, to the most remote regions of the 
world, to propagate the faith and to convert gentiles. This 
the Church has done in every age, sending her missionaries 
into every corner of the globe. Heretical ministers remain 
at home resting quietly on the shore, as it were, and con- 
cerned more about temporal than eternal things. 

VI. From this boat the nets are let down, and a great 
number of fishes of all kinds is taken ; so in the Catholic 
Church are let down the nets of evangelical preaching 
throughout the whole universe. For " their sound is gone 
forth in the whole earth ; " the faith is propagated on all sides, 
many Gentiles of all nations are captured ; moreover, all who 
are converted to the faith, are converted by the Church of 
Rome. During the fifteenth century were converted and are 
still being converted innumerable Indians, Orientals, Japa- 
nese, etc. In the fourteenth century, twenty-five thousand 
Jews and Saracens were converted by St. Vincent Ferrer. In 
the thirteenth century many Tartars were converted by two 
Dominican Fathers sent out by the Holy Father. In the 
twelfth century the Norwegians by Eugene III. and Adrian 
IV. ; in the eleventh century, many Hungarians at the in- 
stance of their King, St. Stephen ; in the tenth century, 
many kingdoms embraced the faith as the works of St. Henry 
Emperor, Adelbert and Methodius testify ; in the ninth cen- 
tury, the Danes and Bulgarians ; in the eighth century, the 
Germans by St. Boniface who was sent by Gregory II ; in the 
seventh century, the oriental Franks by St. Killian ; in the 
sixth century, the Angles by St Augustine : in the fifth cen- 
tury, Britain and Scotia by Palladius. Who will count all 
the other nations, Ireland, Brabant, Flanders, Holland, 
Frisia, Westphalia, etc., which, through the preaching sons 
of the Eoman Church, Servarius, Eligius, Patrick, Rumoldus, 
Amadus and others, were converted from infidelity and from 
barbarism to civilization ? On the other hand, especially in 
our times, no nations have ever been converted by heretics ; 
their only aim seems to have been the perversion of the faith- 
ful. This is not to catch fish but rather to let go those that 
have been caught. Whence we can most truly say that all 
the fish caught have been caught by the Roman Church 
alone ; none whatever by heretical sects. Not by the Church 
alone but also by Peter and his successors as by the principal 
fisherman who with his co-operators caught the whole world. 

VII. In this boat the net is broken on account of the 



PETER'S BOAT A TYPE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 183 

multitude of fishes. So in the Catholic Church the number 
of the faithful increased ; it was necessary with such a mul- 
titude for the net to be broken, and rents and schisms to take 
place according to the Apostle : " For there must be also 
heresies" (1 Cor. 11 : 19) ; considering the inconstancy and 
curiosity of men especially in such a multitude. So in a 
large family there must be strifes and contentions where 
there are so many different natures. Therefore, all who 
were authors of heresy departed from the Church, having 
broken its net. They gnawed the net of Scripture, destroy- 
ing what did not please them ; preserving what pleased them ; 
depriving it of sense and interpreting it according to their 
free will. They made a hole through which they followed 
those nearest them, those inclined to the same liberty, which 
is the dangerous sea of this world. It is no wonder that in 
such a multitude there should be schisms and heresies ; but 
it is wonderful that there should be among heretics them- 
selves, who are so few in number. All who left the Church 
perished in their obstinacy ; and though divided among 
themselves, they met the same death, having achieved 
nothing. 

VIII. This boat called on its companions to come and help 
it with the capture ; so the Roman Church has the legitimate 
calling of ministers, and their just subordination ; also the 
communion of churches. As Jerusalem was the principal of 
the Hebrew cities, so is Rome of the Christian cities. Who- 
ever is a Catholic is associated with Rome, that is the Sov- 
ereign Pontiff. St. Jerome writes to Damasius : " If one is 
joined to the chair of Peter, he is mine." According to the 
early Fathers, Jerome and Ambrose, whatever was Catholic 
was Roman. Whoever wishes to fish in the Church of 
Christ must be called by Peter and his companions, not by 
others who have no authority. Peter was called by Christ ; 
the companions of Peter by Peter ; those in the other boat 
by the companions of Peter ; so in the Church, Bishops are 
called by the Pope, and priests by Bishops. This boat was 
in danger of sinking ; but it did not sink. So the Church 
of Rome can be tossed by the waves, but it cannot be wrecked ; 
as Pius II. wrote to the ruler of the Turks : " You may try 
in vain to sink the ship of Peter ; that boat is tossed by the 
waves, but it never sinks." This was apparent in the three 
first centuries, when the ship of the Church, during so many 
persecutions, not only did not sink, but rather crested the 



184 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PfeTElCOSf . 

waves, as Noah's Ark did during the deluge. Also around 
the year five hundred, when it flourished and was vigorous 
under Anastasius the Eutychian Emperor ; the Arian kings 
of Italy, Spain and Africa ; the pagan kings of the Franks, 
Angles and Germans. It was apparent around the year one 
thousand when secular princes were noted for their sanc- 
tity : St. Henry Emperor and his wife Cunegunda, the Ro- 
man Emperor, the Greek, Canute, King of Denmark and Eng- 
land, St. Stephen, King of Hungary, with his son, St. 
Emeric, St. Robert, King of the Franks, Ferdinand the Great 
of Castile with his wife. Luther, through envy, in this text 
of to-day's gospel omits the word almost which is given in the 
old Latin and Greek texts. And it necessarily belongs here, 
for who can say that those boats sank entirely ? Would not 
Christ again, by this act, have destroyed what he had before 
created by a miracle ? Should we not be stupefied with Peter 
on account of the wonderful haul of fishes, or the increase of 
the Church, its stability, order, etc. ? 

Should we not justly bend the knee to Christ and his Ro- 
man Church ? Let us be convinced that it was said of the 
chair of Peter : "Fear not," etc. Finally, let us always be 
suspicious of the heretical ship about which nothing is writ- 
ten in the gospel. 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

DIFFEKE^CES BETWEEN THE OLD LAW AND THE NEW. 

I. The old law was written on tables of stone, the new on the ta- 
bles of the heart. II. The old law was obscure, the new is 
clear. III. The old was confined within narrow limits, 
the new has been spread throughout the whole earth. IV. 
The old was temporary, the new eternal. V. The old was 
a heavy yoke, the new a light one. VI. The old was one of 
fear and of slaves, the new of love and of children. VII. The 
old of itself justified no one, the new has the power of justify- 
ing. VIII. The old was for the young, the new for the grown 
ones. IX. The old promised only temporal things, the new 
eternal. The old had heaven closed, the new has it open. 

" You have heard that it was said to them of old." (Matt. 5 : 21.) 

It is declared that Josue, that most illustrious leader, was a 
type of Christ not only on account of the similarity of name 
(for Josue signifies the same as the most sacred name 
of Jesus); but also on account of other analogies. Passing 
over many, we read that Josue was given by the children 
of Israel possession of the city of Thamnathsaraa, a poor 
and badly constructed one, almost tottering, which he finally 
rebuilt and made habitable ; it became famous ; in the 
time of St. Jerome it was still in existence. Some wished its 
name changed and it was called Timnathcheres as it is called 
in the Hebrew text. What is that battered city unless the 
Synagogue or Mosaic law, lacerated and destroyed by the 
morals of the Jews. Therefore Christ began to rebuild and 
finish this city so that those who wished, could live comfort- 
ably in it, not as in an old but in a new one. Each name of 
the city is in accord with this view, for the first signifies a 
superfluous image, decaying and rotting ; the second signifies 
an image of the sun. What was there in the Synagogue, only 
a superfluity of human traditions and of carnal sacrifices, 
fetid and nauseating ; what was itself, only a foul-smelling 
image and wanting in virtue ? But the Church is the image 

1S5 



Igg FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

of the sun shining far and wide, representing Christ the Sun 
of justice, by holiness of life, faith, worship and love. And 
our Josue begins to-day to build this partly from the tot- 
tering, partly from the heaped-up ruins of the old law. We 
shall see the difference between the old city of the Synagogue 
and the new one of the Church. 

I. The old law was written for the Jews on tables of stone 
to signify the hardness of their hearts ; that they would not 
observe the law, says St. Augustine. Wherefore the Jews 
attended only to the letter of the law and for that reason, 
they wrote it on parchments and on the hems of their garments, 
so as to have it always before their eyes, and to fulfil it 
externally, not caring with what regard, what mind or what 
intention. The new law is written and inscribed for Christians, 
not on tables of stone, but on the fleshy tables of the heart, 
that is, sensitive and flexible tables, as St. Paul says (2 Cor. 
3). God himself through Jeremias says: "I will give my 
law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart, and I 
will be their God and they shall be my people " (Jer. 31 : 33). 
By a living voice the law was proclaimed to the faithful in 
Sion, and by the Holy Ghost impressed on their hearts more 
solidly than the old law on tables of stone. In no way, 
neither by threats nor torments, by wiles nor promises, could 
the tyrants extract the law from the hearts of so many 
thousands of faithful, who willingly shed their blood in 
defense of it. The law is imprinted on the hearts of the 
faithful ; with it they become eminent through faith and 
other illustrations, by which the excellency, the divinity and 
utility of the law are indicated to them. Again with it they 
are strengthened to not only retain the law in memory, but 
also to uphold it by the sacrifice of their lives. 

II. The old law was obscure, hidden in many shadows of 
figures, and therefore signified by a veil with which the face 
of Moses was covered, when he was speaking to the people 
(Exod. 34) ; likewise by the veil of the temple which was rent 
through the death of Christ. Then the hidden meanings of 
the old law became evident. The same thing was signified 
by the cloud and smoke around Mt. Sinai, when God gave 
the law to Moses, for he said to him. " Lo now will I come 
to thee in the darkness of a cloud" (Exod. 19 : 9) that is, in 
the obscure science of law ; for the deepest mysteries of faith, 
Trinity, Incarnation, Eucharist, Eesnrrection, Judgment, 
eternal beatitude were shown only by figures, and that most 



THE OLD LAW AND THE NEW. 187 

obscurely, and only to those who were friendly with God. 
The new law is clear and most lucid, as is evident from the 
gospels, which, with regard to the Scriptures of the old law, 
especially the prophecies, are as day to night. For there, 
each one can learn what pertains to faith, salvation and the 
right manner of living. What formerly the most learned 
Eabbis could not understand, now is readily believed by the 
most illiterate, and, as much as is necessary, clearly under- 
stood. 

III. The old law was confined within narrow limits, not 
extending farther than from the river Euphrates to the 
Mediterranean Sea, to the Hebrew nation alone included in 
Palestine. The new law is spread throughout the whole 
earth, according to David : " He shall rule from sea to sea 
and from the river unto the ends of the earth " (Ps. 71 : 8). 

This was designated also in the fleece of wool of Gedeon, 
which at first was covered with dew while the ground all 
around was dry ; afterwards only the fleece remained dry 
while the ground was covered with dew (Judges 6 : 37-40). 
St. Augustine says : " I do not see what else is prefigured 
here unless we understand by the ground the whole earth, 
and the place of the fleece, the people of Israel. For we 
know that formerly that race was covered by the grace of the 
divine Sacrament as by heavenly dew, of which gift there 
was, as it were, a dryness among the neighboring nations who 
did not possess it. This people had this gift in a fleece of 
wool, that is, in a veil in the disguise of a secret, because it 
had not yet been revealed. Now we see the whole world 
covered by the revealed dew through the gospel." 

IV. The old law was temporary, lasting only until the time 
of Christ ; as a tutor is assigned to boys while they are young ; 
afterwards they are placed with masters and professors. 
" Wherefore the law was our pedagogue in Christ, that we 
might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are 
no longer under a pedagogue" (Gal. 3:24-25). With the 
advent of the law of Christ the pedagogue is removed. The 
new law, therefore, is eternal and endures to the end of the 
world. A type of the old law were the first tables of the law, 
which were broken by Moses and this signified that that law 
at some time was to be abolished. A type of the new law 
were the second tables which were not broken but were 
always preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, that is, the 
Church of Christ. Another indication of this is that the old 



133 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

law was given with a movement of the earth at least of Mt. 
Sinai. " The earth was moved at the presence of the God of 
Sinai " (Ps. 67 : 9). " And all the mount was terrible " 
(Exod. 19 : 18), that is, in Hebrew, trembling and panting 
because the law was movable and was to be abolished. But 
the new law was given without this movement, because it was 
to remain to the end of the world. 

V. The old law was a heavy yoke and almost unbearable ; 
this is what the heavy hands of Moses denoted according to 
St. Bernard, which he could not hold up for a long time in 
prayer unless supported by Aaron and Hur ; so also the 
weight of that law could not be borne long without a special 
grace. It was very heavy, first, on account of the multitude 
of precepts, which numbered six hundred and thirteen ; and 
if so many negative, how many positive ? Secondly, on 
account of their difficulty in food, touch, sacrifices, ceremonies 
and judgments. Thirdly, because those sacrifices and sacra- 
ments did not confer grace from the work performed which 
would lessen the difficulty ; nor did that law, without 
faith in Christ, have the power of justifying. Finally, 
because heavy punishments were inflicted on delinquents for 
light offenses : as stoning for instance, if one had blasphemed 
or had violated the Sabbath ; forbidden the temple if one had 
touched the dead, etc., etc. But the new law is called a 
light yoke by Christ, because the law of love only commands 
charity towards God and our neighbor ; because it has 
the example of Christ ; it has abundant grace to lighten the 
burden. 

VI. The old law was a law of fear and of slaves, as St. 
Paul says : " For you have received the spirit of bondage 
again in fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption of 
sons of God (Rom. 8:15 ); and again he compares in Gal. 4 
the yoke of slavery to Agar, and on the contrary the law of 
grace to Sara. Agar was a handmaid and the bondwoman of 
Abraham ; and she, with her son Ismael, the persecutor of 
Isaac, the son of Sara, was expelled from the house of Abra- 
ham, denoting the Synagogue which, because its children 
persecuted the children of the Church, was destroyed by 
God. Sara, who was the true wife of Abraham, signifying 
the Church, always adhered to God. The new law is the law 
of love and of children, also of liberty, because by love and 
grace it gently leads us to its observance ; then it confers a 
fourfold freedom : first, from the slavery of the appetites and 



THE OLD LAW AND THE NEW. 189 

vices to which sinners are subject ; secondly, from coercion 
and fear, so that we may observe the law, not through fear of 
punishment, but through love of God and virtue ; thirdly, 
from the old law which contained judicial precepts and cere- 
monials not moral nor belonging to the decalogue. The 
fourth it confers in the resurrection from death and all 
misery. Therefore the new law given on Mount Sion was in- 
scribed on the hearts of the faithful without any fear, nay, 
even with the greatest joy and to their consolation, through 
a fire not burning and consuming, but soothing and nourish- 
ing. But the old law was given on Mt. Sinai with terror, 
thunder and lightning, on a burning mountain in the terrible 
voice of a proclaiming Angel. 

VII. The old law of itself, that is, without faith in Christ, 
justified no one, nor could it justify or absolve from sins and 
confer grace, as St. Paul testifies (Gal. 2:3; Hebr. 10). 
The sacrifices of that law were " weak and needy elements " 
(Galat. 4:9). A type of this was the altar of holocaust, which 
was "not solid, but empty and hollow on the inside " (Exod. 
27 : 8). But the new law of itself has the power of justifying. 
Hence its altars are not empty, but solid and of stone. 
Eliseus showed a type of this to the Hebrews when he first 
sent his servant with his staff to raise the dead boy, but he 
failed ; then he himself went to the child and raised him 
from the dead (4 Kings 4 : 35). The servant with the staff of 
Eliseus denotes the old law by which alone the prophets 
could never bring the life of grace to sinners. The descent 
of Eliseus himself indicates the new law of Christ which 
raises sinners. The same thing is seen in the parable of the 
good Samaritan, who alone carried the wounded man on his 
horse and caused him to be cured in the inn, which the 
priests and Levites did not do. For these represent the 
powerlessness of the old law ; the Samaritan, the virtue of 
the new law to justify. 

VIII. The old law was the law of young and ignorant 
people : for the law brought nothing to perfection (Heb. 
7 : 19) ; that is, it could not perfect anyone, for it was occupied 
with externals only : how one should care for his appearance 
before men, not before God, pure and holy. If one touched 
a dead person, or an unclean one, the law ordered him to be 
washed. If one committed murder, he was killed, but the 
law did not expiate the sin itself. It paid attention only to 
external and grave sins, as we gather from to-day's gospel, 



190 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

because it was prescribed for ignorant men. St. Cyril of 
Alexandria says "that the reason the evangelical law was 
not given in the beginning was because the Israelites, when 
freed from Egypt, were, as children, rude and ignorant, and 
easily led hither and thither. They needed education, 
which was given them in figures as a more delicate food to 
lead them on the way to perfection. And if one carefully 
studies their manners he will see that they were not worthy 
of the shadow, as Moses showed by breaking the tables 
of the law." And for this reason, St. Paul justly called 
that law a pedagogue, as it were, because it instructed 
ignorant children. A pedagogue among the Greeks was 
called a servant who led and ruled the child and prepared 
him for higher studies to be given by a professor. There- 
fore the new law is for men and fitted for more sublime 
studies. Whence its professors are more accurate and more 
subtle, as the Lord shows in to-day's gospel and at length 
(Matt. 5). It will not do for the lessons of men to be pre- 
scribed for children and vice versa. As the Jews were guided 
mainly by the senses and their own cupidities, the law pre- 
scribed for them the lowest grade — "an eye for an eye ; a 
tooth for a tooth. " This was to prepare them for a higher 
doctrine. " I tell you not to resist evil, but if one strike 
you on one cheek turn to him the other/' Again it was said 
of old : "Love your friend;" another lesson for children. 
But the Lord raised it to a higher : " Love your enemies." 
Therefore the old law is not opposed to the new, but as a 
pedagogue sends his children to a tutor, so it transmits to 
Christ from the more common precepts to the more perfect. 
Let each one examine carefully to which school he belongs 
whether he is satisfied with the preparatory lessons of the 
Hebrews or the higher ones of the followers of Christ. 

IX. The old law promised only temporal goods, as the 
land of promise flowing with milk and honey and abounding in 
all kinds of fruits ; blessings for children, flocks, fields, houses, 
etc. " If you be willing and will hearken to me, you shall 
eat the good things of the land " (Isaias 1 : 19). There is no 
express mention of eternal goods, nor of the kingdom of 
heaven. The first to speak of heaven and promise it to the 
repentant was John Baptist, who began his discourse as 
Christ did : " Do penance for the kingdom of God is at 
hand" ; then, because heaven was closed until the ascension 
of Christ ; again, because they were a carnal race seeking 



THE OLD LAW AND THE NEW. 191 ( 

only earthly commodities, and counted for little the promise 
of future goods especially at that time when heaven was not 
open to any one. In the new law, the first thing promised 
is the kingdom of heaven. For this reason, the Lord begins 
his sermon on the Mount : " Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The new law scarcely 
mentions any promise of temporal goods, as though it would 
be unworthy to promise them to its observers. t 

X. The old law had heaven closed against it, and sent all its ' 
followers to Limbo, even the most holy — The good Jacob 
did not seek Joseph in heaven but in Limbo. " I will go 
down to my son in hell, mourning " (Gen. 38 : 35). The 
good Ezechias when dying said : "I shall go to the gates of 
hell " (Is. 38 :10). ISTo one could open the gates of heaven 
only the King of glory, as we read (Ps. 23). The new 
law, after the ascension of Christ, has heaven open, so that 
the souls of the just, cleansed from all stain are brought 
thither to eternal glory to see God face to face. St. 
Stephen fighting for heaven cried out : " Behold I see the 
heavens open " (Acts 7). St. John writes that the twelve gates 
of the heavenly city are open, three on each side : north, south, 
east and west ; that is, heaven is open on all sides to receive 
the elect from every part of the earth. But some one may 
object that the old law in those things we have spoken of is 
not surpassed by the new ; and, in fact, it seems to be more 
excellent on account of the divine favors and the stupendous 
miracles God wrought in it. But, I answer, this rather argues 
the imperfection of the Jews whom God, through such signs, 
wished to retain in his service. Secondly, there are not 
fewer miracles in the Church but rather far more, partly in 
favor of the Saints, partly wrought by the Saints themselves. 
If the miracles in the new law are not the same as those in 
the old, they are not very unlike them. Jacob saw a ladder 
reaching from earth to heaven ; St. Eomuald saw such a ladder 
and the brothers of his Order on it ascending to heaven. 
The impious Sodomites blinded by God could not see the 
entrance to Lot's house, lest they might molest the just man ; 
in the same way St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, with his deacon 
praying on the mountain and sought by his enemies, was not 
recognized by them, for they seemed as two trees and not two 
men. An Angel led the Hebrews through the desert ; so also 
in 1144 did an Angel seated on a white horse lead the Chris- 
tian army to the gates of Jerusalem. Manna rained from 



102 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

heaven for the Jews ; the same happened in 418, when, in the 
Balearic Isles, many Jews were converted to the faith of 
Christ. Elias was fed by a crow ; Paul the hermit likewise 
was fed for sixty years. These are a few of the many which 
prove that the miracles of the new law are greater and more 
frequent than those of the old. It was formerly considered a 
mark of the highest honor to be a citizen of Rome ; how 
much greater is it for a Christian to be a citizen of the Church 
of Christ ! For this is nothing else than to be a citizen of 
heaven. il You are come to Mt. Sion, to the city of the liv- 
ing God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to the company of 
many thousands of Angels and to the church of the firstborn 
who are written in the heavens " (Heb. 12 : 22). Let us then 
give eternal thanks to God, who are citizens not of an earthly 
Rome, nor of the old Synagogue, but of the new Church of 
Christ. And this dignity we have purchased not with our 
own coin but with another, the most precious blood of Christ. 
Let us show ourselves worthy of the dignity of this name, so 
that passing from the Church militant we may enter with 
joy the eternal city of the Church triumphant. 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

HOW APPROPRIATELY THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS HAVE BEEN 
INSTITUTED IN THE CHURCH. 



I. Cause of the institution. II, They are instituted under visible 
signs. III. Definite words are used. IV. They are instituted 
seven in number and that aptly. V. They are to be adminis- 
tered by the ministrations of men, VI. A twofold virtue is con- 
ferred by the Sacraments. 

" How many loaves have ye ? Who said, Seven " (Mark 8 : 5). 

Christ so wisely performed all his miracles as to intimate, 
through them, the remarkable doctrine concerning us. The 
spouse announcing the miracle of her beloved says : " His 
hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths " (Cant. 5 : 
14) ; that is, all his works and miracles are so round and so 
wisely prepared as though they were turned, and they con- 
tain not only the gold of charity but also the hyacinths of 
heavenly doctrine. This is evident in to-day's miracle, in 
which he beautifully depicts for us why he was to refresh and 
satiate the universal Church. As the entire multitude was 
fed with seven loaves, so the whole Church is nourished by 
seven Sacraments. As those loaves were by no means con- 
sumed, but were more than abundant ; so, also the virtue of 
the Sacraments is inexhaustible. This satiating of four 
thousand people is similar to the institution of the Sacra- 
ments by which the whole Christian world is replenished. 
The cause why Christ provided loaves for his followers was 
their weakness and hunger ; for he says : " I have compas- 
sion on the multitude, for behold they have now been with 
me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them 
away fasting to their homes, they will faint in the way." 
So also the cause of instituting the Sacraments in the Church 

193 



194 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

was the necessity of the people, the failing and feebleness of 
strength into which they had fallen through the sin of Adam, 
as into a sickness from which they could not rise without the 
grace of God ; in which they could accomplish nothing good, 
but only continue in temptations. Hence, medicine was 
necessary for the sick, and also food for the hungry. That 
man denotes this, who fell among robbers by whom he 
was not only wounded but also robbed. Unless the good 
Samaritan, Christ, moved by mercy, had prepared wine and 
oil for our wounds, that is, the Sacraments, for they contain 
those two : oil, the grace of the Holy Ghost, wine, the blood 
and merits of Christ ; in no manner could we live ; but, with 
the crowd in the gospel, we would faint in the way. There- 
fore we were in need of Baptism, by which we would be 
washed from original sin and incorporated into the Church 
of God. We needed Confirmation, by which we would be con- 
firmed in the faith and so strengthened that we should never 
abandon it. We needed Penance by which we could rise 
from any sins into which we might have fallen, and also re- 
cover lost grace. We needed the Eucharist, by which we 
would be sustained on the road to virtue and persevere in the 
same. We needed Extreme Unction, by which Christian 
athletes would be fortified in the last and most difficult 
struggle against the snares of invisible enemies. We needed 
another grace, which would indissolubly unite married people 
and help them in their dangerous state to legitimately prop- 
agate their offspring. We needed another grace, which would 
clothe some men with power to administer these Sacraments 
to others, and hence the Sacrament of Holy Order ; so that 
the Sacraments are certain vessels in which are contained the 
oil and wine of our Samaritan, Christ ; they are channels 
through which these must flow to us ; they are seven Col- 
umns on which the Church rests (Prov. 9). 

II. Christ wished to feed that multitude with corporal 
food borrowed from the disciples themselves when he could 
have used invisible and spiritual food. So he instituted the 
Sacraments under the visible and material signs of water, 
chrism, bread and wine, etc., when he could, in an invisible 
manner, confer invisible grace ; and this he did, first, 
because we are composed not only of soul but also of body, 
and we are accustomed to arrive at a knowledge of spiritual 
things by means of sensible ones. Whatever is performed in 
the Sacraments externally for the body, this also can be un- 



INSTITUTION OF THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS. 195 

derstood internally of the soul. Tertullian says : " The body 
is washed that the soul may be cleansed ; the body is 
anointed that the soul may remain consecrated ; the body is 
nourished by the species of bread and wine that the soul may 
be satiated with the nourishment which the body and blood 
of Christ give it." Secondly, because our sickness has its 
beginning in sensible things. Sins begin in the flesh in car- 
nal things with which it is fed and nourished ; therefore it 
stands to reason that the antidotes should be sensible and 
begin in the flesh : so that we would understand the root and 
origin of our disease. Therefore, because our leprosy adhered 
to the body and from it passed to the soul, it behoved us 
with Naam to enter the waters of the Jordan and wash seven 
times therein. The sting of the scorpion was cured by the 
oil of the scorpion. Thirdly, in sinning, we subjected our- 
selves to corporal things ; it is necessary then for us if we wish 
to be saved to subject ourselves to these same things and in a 
manner extract a remedy from them : to subject our intellect 
to believing that God our Lord in such common things as oil 
and water, placed the communication of such sublime things 
as his graces ; to believe likewise that the words of the sac- 
ramental form pronounced by the minister have the super- 
natural power of effecting interiorly in our souls what they 
signify exteriorly. Fourthly, that by these, as by military 
signs or passwords, we should be known and distinguished 
from others. Soldiers are distinguished by the Colors and 
marks of their uniforms. 

Baptism distinguishes us from Jew and Gentile ; the other 
Sacraments distinguish us from heretics. While we may 
participate in these same Sacraments, how can it be that we 
do not begin to love one another and be bound by the chain 
of charity ? Fifthly, that, by the use of those signs, we 
should publicly profess the Christian faith. "While we re- 
ceive them, the faith which we carry in our hearts we profess 
externally by deed. Sixthly, that we should have some ex- 
terior sign of sins forgiven us and of grace conferred ; of our 
former health restored, that we may be comforted, when 
there is nothing wanting on our part, and for the rest that 
we should live in peace and tranquillity of spirit. Such a 
sign, but of restored health, Ezechias sought ; for a greater 
reason we also, because our disease is invisible and spiritual, 
needed some sign of health restored to us. 

III. Christ used words also. Taking the seven loaves, 



196 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

"he gave thanks" and blessed them; that is, he besought 
and commanded a multiplication of them. So in the insti- 
tution of the Sacraments, besides the material signs, he 
instituted a certain form of words such as : " I baptize thee," 
" I absolve/' etc. First, that they might be suited to body 
and soul. As man consists of body and soul as matter and 
form ; so also a Sacrament has matter and form ; the former 
corresponds to the body, the latter to the soul ; as the body 
is washed by water, the soul perceives and believes the Word, 
and in believing, becomes clean ; and so a medicine suitable 
for body and soul was prepared. Secondly, that the Sacra- 
ments should represent Christ the Author of our salvation. 
As Christ is a divine word joined to a visible body, so in the 
Sacraments there are words joined with a visible material. 
Thirdly, that we might be recruited to a new and better 
state of life and to the fellowship of the divinity in the same 
manner in which we had been created. For then, "God 
said, and they were made." Because by Christ we are re- 
stored, (a word also was used in this restoration) to give us 
to understand that we were created anew spiritually. Fourth- 
ly, that what is effected by each Sacrament should be signi- 
fied more clearly. Fifthly, that he would honor also the 
men to whose words, in the administration of the Sacraments, 
he gave a divine virtue instrumental for the destroying of 
sin and the effecting and conferring of grace. This is a great 
dignity given to man, that he could say with Christ to the 
soul of the sinner : " Son, thy sins are forgiven thee ; " nay, 
even, " I remit you your sins," I free you from hell and con- 
stitute you an heir to the kingdom of heaven. When the 
Lord said to the paralytic : " Arise, take up thy bed and go 
into thy house," he arose, took up his bed and went into his 
house, and the multitude, seeing this, "feared and glorified 
God who gave such power to men." But in reality it is more 
to forgive sins than to say : "Take up thy bed and walk," 
because the grace of the soul is more excellent than the 
health of the body. 

IV. Christ used seven loaves with which to feed the multi- 
tude. So he also instituted seven Sacraments, neither more 
nor less, as all Catholics always held and do hold to-day. 
When Christ asked : "How many loaves have ye ?" the dis- 
ciples unanimously answered: "Seven;" so if Catholics 
are asked the number of Sacraments, in whatever part of the 
globe, they will answer " seven." On the other hand, 



INSTITUTION OF THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS. 197 

heretical sects differ as to the number; some holding two, some 
three, some one ; some say such are Sacraments, others say 
others. But Christ consistently instituted the Sacraments in 
this number. First, because by them he provides for the 
spiritual life in the same manner one is accustomed to pro- 
vide for the corporal life. For man to live and to preserve his 
life, these seven seem necessary : that he be born ; that he 
grow ; that he be nourished ; that he be cured if he fall 
sick ; that he be armed if he is to oppose his enemies ; 
that he have a ruler by whose authority and will he may be 
governed ; finally, that by legitimate propagation of off- 
spring he may preserve himself and the human race. These 
same things were necessary for our spiritual life, which is 
grace, and they are shown in the sacraments. By Baptism 
we are born again, grace being born in us, and we enter a 
new life. By Confirmation we grow and advance in grace 
and faith, as Christ about to ascend to heaven said to his 
Apostles : " Stay you in the city till you be endued with 
power from on high." By the Eucharist we are nourished 
and sustained in virtue and grace according to the words : 
" Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man, you shall 
not have life in you." If through sin we should fall into 
some sickness of the soul, we are cured by Penance, and we 
recover lost grace. By Extreme Unction we are strength- 
ened to fight the enemies of our soul, in our last agony. By 
the Sacrament of Order in the Church we are governed by 
our pastors and multiplied spiritually. By Matrimony the 
human race is preserved by a legitimate offspring and prop- 
agated corporally. Secondly, because these seven Sacra- 
ments are accommodated to the seven states of man as is seen 
in the soldier's Baptism, the state of those entering life ; 
Confirmation, of those fighting ; Eucharist, of those resum- 
ing strength after the battle ; Penance, of those rising from 
their fall and wounds ; Extreme Unction, of those leaving 
this life ; Order, of those governing and in charge of the 
supplies ; Matrimony, of those introducing new soldiers. 
Thirdly, because they prepare the sonl for the seven principal 
virtues, three theological, and four cardinal. Baptism for 
faith, Confirmation for hope, Eucharist for Charity, Penance 
for justice, Extreme Unction for fortitude and perseverance, 
Order for prudence, Matrimony for temperance. 

V. Christ employed the assistance of his disciples who dis- 
tributed the loaves that the bread should multiply in their 



198 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

hands. So, also, the Lord instituted the Sacraments that 
he might use the ministry of men as the instrumental cause 
in dispensing them, and so that one should administer to 
another and not to himself. First, to show the leaning 
of his goodness towards men to whom he communicated 
this his greatest power, that they should be one with him- 
self as an instrument with a principal cause or author, as a 
pen with a writer, a brush with a painter, to paint grace in 
the human heart, which is a certain communication of the 
divinity. Secondly, that men might by this have a new oc- 
casion for deserving well of others, as indicated when in the 
other banquet spoken of by Matthew, the disciples asked the 
Lord to send away the people to buy victuals, he replied : 
"They have no need to go : give you them to eat" (Matt. 
14 : 16). God could have conferred sufficient wealth on each 
man, but he wished to give some less, and some more, so 
that the rich would have an occasion of being blessed by the 
poor, and the poor an occasion for praying for the rich. 
Thirdly, that there might exist a reason why men should be 
bound together in mutual love, since they understand that 
good only such as divine grace can be communicated to them 
by men, ministers of the Sacraments ; the grace of Confirma- 
tion and Order by Bishops ; grace of Penance, Eucharist 
and Extreme Unction by Priests ; grace of Baptism by any 
one in case of necessity. Hence they acknowledge them- 
selves debtors ; they revere and love them ; they fear to 
offend them, — because they look on them as fathers no less 
than parents in the flesh. St. Paul says : " For if you have 
ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. 
For in Christ Jesus by the gospel I have begotten you " 
(1 Cor. 4 : 15). Fourthly, that we might gather from this 
that the virtue and efficacy of the Sacraments are so great 
• that they cannot be impeded even by unworthy ministers, 
5 as long as they duly administer them. The Lord knew that 
there would be many wicked dispensers of the Mysteries ; he 
by no means would have conferred that power if the virtue 
of the Sacraments depended on their lives. If they were to 
be administered by angels or holy men only, sanctification 
would be ascribed rather to their sanctity than to the efficacy 
of the Sacraments. As an expert penman takes up any pen 
and nevertheless writes well, so that it is his art that is 
praised, not his pen, so God wished to act in this case. 
Sacraments are called signs and seals. " If on two rings/' 



INSTITUTION OF THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS. 199 

says St. Gregory ISTazianzen, te one gold and one iron, the 
same image be engraved, they will both make the same impres- 
sion. So the same sanctification is conferred through the 
Sacrament administered by the golden priest remarkable for 
sanctity as that administered by the unworthy one." 

VI. Christ conferred a twofold virtue on those loaves : one 
of appeasing hunger, the other of restoring strength to the 
exhausted ; so also the Sacraments confer a twofold virtue. 
First, the virtue of banishing sin and partly its remains, or 
the punishment due to them. Secondly, the virtue of 
bringing grace to the soul, of preserving and increasing to 
certain determined acts. As Eliseus so prodigiously mul- 
tiplied the widow's oil, which she had in a certain vessel, that 
she was able to fill other vessels brought her, to pay her 
creditors and to live comfortably with her sons ; so also Christ 
multiplied the Sacraments for us, that through them we 
could pay the debts of our sins ; and then to cherish the life 
of grace in us. 

Therefore, it remains for us to see that vessels for receiving 
oil be not wanting, lest it stand. The oil of that grace which 
the Sacraments give is always in the Church as long as there 
are men disposed to receive it. Alas, how few now are the 
vessels empty of worldly cares and secular pursuits ! How 
infrequent the use of the Sacraments ! Since the Sacraments 
are such holy and precious things, let us learn to treat them 
with the deepest reverence and honor, not only in our hands 
but also in our mouths. What madness then is it to desecrate 
the Sacraments, which should be our means of salvation. Is 
this not to destroy the bridge over which we must cross to 
escape our enemies ? Is it not to tie a rope around the neck 
to prevent breathing ? Is it not to close the gates of heaven ? 
As often as we hear the name of a Sacrament, we should fall 
on our knees and give thanks to God for those loaves of bread 
left us in the Church ; and let us ask him to give us a spir- 
itual hunger and desire for them that we may partake of them 
more fervently and more worthily than we have heretofore. 



SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

THOSE WHO WILL SAY TO GOD IN YAIN I " LOKD, LOKD." 



I. Such are heretics. II. Christians who by voice confess Christ : 
by deed deny him. III. Who do not complete their good 
desires. IV. Whose whole devotion is in external works. 

" Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven." 

(Matt. ? ; 21.) 

It is customary among civilized nations in receiving a 
guest to not only salute him by word of mouth but also to 
extend him the hand. This was observed by Jehu, the King 
of Israel who on his way to destroy Baal and his priests, met 
Jonadab and said to him : "Is thy heart right as my heart 
is with thy heart ? And Jonadab said : it is. If it be, said 
he, give me thy hand. He gave him his hand. And he 
lifted him up into the chariot. And he said to him : come 
with me and see my zeal for the Lord" (4 Kings 10 : 15, 16). 

Mystically Jehu signifies Christ the Son of God who will 
come from heaven to judgment, to destroy sin and its followers. 
When we all shall go to meet him, he will ask us if we love 
him as he himself has loved us. 

He will, by no means, be content with a vocal assertion 
alone, because as we read in the text : "Not every one that 
saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven." He will ask for the hand, that is, trne and sincere 
work by which we shall really and sincerely prove our love 
towards him. He adds : " If any one do the will of my 
Father," etc. And then he will lift us up into the chariot of 
his glory ; not otherwise. Therefore, before we go to meet 
Christ, let us ask ourselves how we will face him. 

" Before judgment, examine thyself, and thou shalt find 
mercy in the sight of God " (Eccl. 18 : 20). Those who do 
not rightly appear before God shall say in vain, " Lord, Lord," 

200 



THOSE WHO WILL SAY IN VAIN : " LORD, LORD." 201 

I. Such are the Lutherans and Calvinists, who have a certain 
kind of confidence they call special, by which they believe 
they will be surely saved without works, for they believe they 
have been made partakers of the divine promises of justification 
and remission of sins. But this confidence is a mere figment, 
and is destroyed by the words of the text. They are said to 
have faith in Christ the Lord, and otherwise they are not 
reprehended unless because they do not the will of the Father ; 
however, the kingdom of heaven is denied to them. Likewise, 
those who on the day of judgment will say : " Lord, Lord, 
have we not prophesied in thy name ?" they had faith, but 
not on account of this are they rejected, but because they 
were " doers of iniquity." And yet they will hear : " I never 
knew you." Heretics say : Lord, Lord, have you not suffered 
for us and satisfied for us ? are not your passion and merits 
perfect ? but let them hear : was not Christ baptized for us ? 
and yet he should be baptized who wishes to become a 
partaker of the merits of Christ. I could also say : Did not 
Christ rise for us and ascend into heaven ? therefore it is 
not necessary for us to rise and ascend. <e Heirs indeed of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ, yet so if we suffer with him, 
that we may also be glorified with him" (Rom. 8 : 17). 

" He is not crowned unless he strive lawfully. If we be 
dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we 
shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny 
us" (2 Tim. 2 : 5, 11, 13). 

Christ is denied not only by words but also by deeds. The 
reason is, if faith alone and the merits alone of Christ without 
our co-operation would suffice for salvation, would not Christ 
encourage idleness in men, nay more, give license and security 
to commit all kinds of evil ? Luther himself writes : " Many, 
while they heard that so long as they believe all their sins are 
forgiven them, construct a faith for themselves and think they 
are clean, by which they become rash and secure ; but whose 
carnal security is worse than any error that existed before this 
time." However, on this figment, he built his whole gospel 
and his whole doctrine. What else could we say against 
him ? Although Christ promised us justice, remission of sins, 
glory ; should we not therefore co-operate ? Let the ass wiser 
than Balaam talk ; let the body more prudent than the mind 
talk ; let the farmer more learned than the doctor talk. 
Christ promised us temporal supplies : food, clothing, etc., 
saying : " Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, 



202 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

nor do they reap, nor gather into barns : and your heavenly 
Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than 
they ? " (Matt. 16 : 26). And, therefore, farmers neither 
sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, because they know that 
God has promised them food ? Men certainly are like those 
heretics of old who condemned labor, and said that food was 
to be expected from God. 

II. Such are bad Christians, who by voice confess to know 
Christ, and that good works are necessary for salvation, 
but who deny him in deed. They say, " Lord, Lord," because 
they think it sufficient to be baptized and confirmed, to be 
Catholics, to observe the precepts ; they are solicitous about 
nothing, nor do they strive to offer any good works to God. 
To these the Lord will justly say : "Not every one, " etc. 
Do we not know what happened to the fig tree which had 
leaves only and bore no fruit ? Was it not withered by the 
voice of the Lord ? After three years of barrenness was it not 
ordered to be cut down ? The Christian devoid of good 
works is designated by that tree, and who like the fig tree 
should frequently and constantly produce the fruits of good 
works by always observing the negative precepts ; the positive 
ones according to the exigency of time and place. It will not 
do to merely say : " I am a Christian and a Catholic. " If 
the Roman censors, by chance, found any idler in the city, 
they asked him what art he followed ; they examined his 
hands to see if he were an artisan or a tramp useless to the 
republic ; if they found him the latter, he was expelled the 
city. God will do this on the day of judgment with Chris- 
tians especially ; he will examine their hands, that is, their 
works. " I was hungry and you did not give me to eat," 
etc. Nor will he be content with a naked confession of faith 
which we carry with us as the instrument of art. Those 
workmen carried their tools with them, yet they heard the 
words : " Why stand ye here all the day idle ? " When they 
were to be paid, "call the laborers," said the lord, not the 
idle ones ; nor would he pay them for merely walking around 
the vineyard. If they had not labored for the lord but for 
themselves, they would not have been paid ; so also unless 
we labor for God and seek the things that are Christ's, by no 
means will we be workers of God. Certainly the laborers 
whom you send into your field must work steadily or you 
will not pay them. And how can we be called workers of 
God who spend nearly the whole week in our own affairs and 



THOSE WHO WILL SAY IN VAIN : " LORD LORD." 203 

scarcely give a single hour to divine things ? It is a burden 
to spend one half-hour hearing Mass ; we are bored by ser- 
mons ; we are satisfied with approaching the Sacraments once 
or twice a year ; on feast days we never think of giving extra 
time to prayer. And we think the Lord will reward us when 
we say to him : " Lord, Lord, we have always labored ; we 
have struggled to educate our children ; we have prepared 
food and clothing in the sweat of our brow, etc." St. Jerome 
writes of himself that, in the midst of his vigils and fasts, he 
found time to read the works of Cicero and Plato, and being 
brought in spirit to the tribunal of Christ, he was asked his 
profession, and answered : " I am a Christian." " You lie," 
said the Judge, " You are a Ciceronian, not a Christian, 
for where your treasure is there also is your heart." On 
hearing this, he did great penance and so obtained pardon 
for his offense. 

If this man, otherwise pleasing to God, was so treated on 
account only of his greed for study of profane authors, what 
can be said of those who give all their time to the study of 
secular gains and pursuits ? How can they ask reward from 
God ? " He who does not labor, neither let him eat," says 
the Apostle. 

III. Such are those who often have the pious desire of 
avoiding sin, of doing penance, of working well, and who 
lean to God and virtue, but who never effectively propose, 
nor in fact cultivate, God and piety. Many, often during 
sermons, while reading pious books, in sickness and affliction, 
make the strongest resolutions to avoid this or that vice, to 
do this or that good work, to confess that sin so long hidden, 
to restore stolen goods, to enter religion, etc. All these say : 
"Lord, Lord, we are ready to obey you, we will do what you 
require of us, only have patience with us and we will pay you 
all." But in the meantime they do not execute what they 
resolved : they are like a painted runner who seems to run, 
but does not advance one step, because he never raises the 
other foot, that is, of execution. Job says of these : "The 
wing of the ostrich is like the wings of the heron and of the 
hawk" (39 : 3). These birds fly very high, and he tries to 
fly, but, on account of his size and weight, he can only run 
along the ground. Such are those who wish and desire to 
serve God, to follow piety, to shun vice, but who are re- 
strained by cares, pleasures and riches. Balaam was such an 
ostrich who at first prayed well for the Israelites, but con- 



204 SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

qnered by the occasion of gain taken away, which he before 
had despised, he persisted in his obstinacy and malice. He 
said : " Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last 
end be like to them" (Israelites) (Num. 23 :10). But in 
the meantime he did not strive to live well with the Israel- 
ites ; nay more, those whom he had praised by word of mouth 
he destroyed by bad advice. A certain prince, when asked 
his opinion of Calvinists and Catholics, replied that he pre- 
ferred to live with the Calvinists, but to die with the Catholics ; 
because the death of the latter is more secure, while the life of 
the former is more voluptuous. But he should have said : 
Since I prefer to die with the Catholics, I prefer to live with 
them, for a good death depends on a good life ; it is impos- 
sible for him to die well who lives badly. Balaam should 
have said more prudently : " Let my soul live the life of the 
just, that it may die the death of the just." Truly those 
who live a pious life will die a pious death ; and the con- 
trary also is true. There are some Catholics who wish to die 
with the just but who do not live with the just in frequent- 
ing the Sacraments, observing the Sabbath, etc. They make 
strong resolutions when it is too late ; they should have made 
them effectively sooner. " You shall begin to stand without 
and knock at the door, saying : "Lord, open to us : and he 
answering shall say to you, I know you not whence von are " 
(Luke 13:25). 

]V. Such are those whose entire devotion consists in ex- 
ternal works : hearing mass and sermons, giving alms, mak- 
ing pilgrimages, etc. ; about internal works : how they will 
get rid of their vices, how conquer themselves, how mortify 
their depraved appetites ; they have no anxiety, since, how- 
ever, these are more difficult and more necessary. Such were 
the Pharisees whom the Lord rebuked saying : " Woe to you 
Pharisees because you tithe mint and rue and every herb : 
and pass over judgment and the charity of God. Now these 
things you ought to have done, and not to leave the others 
undone " (Luke 11 : 42). It was of little profit to that Phari- 
see who said : "I fast twice on the Sabbath, I give a tenth 
part "etc; and who in the meantime did not conquer his 
pride. For, as it is of more account for the cup to be clean 
on the inside than to be gilded on the outside, so God re- 
quires much more that we purge our heart from vice, and 
conquer ourselves, than that we should perform external 
works, while at the same time we are wedded to sin. Tho 



THOSE WHO WILL SAY IN VAIN: " LORD, LORD." 205 

reason is, because charity is the foundation on which the 
walls of good works should be erected. Therefore he who 
simply prays, fasts, gives alms, etc., and does not strive to 
uproot his vices is like the house built on sand — " and the rain 
fell and the floods came and the winds blew, and they beat upon 
that house and it fell, and great was the fall thereof (Matt. 
7 : 27). All those trees were bad or useless. The first were 
barren ; the second gave forth leaves only ; those that gave 
flowers and no fruit, those that bore fruit but of little use. 
Of all these it is said : " Every tree that bringeth not forth 
good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire " 
(Matt. 7 : 19) ; and from this judgment may the Lord pre- 
serve us ! 



EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, 

WASTING THE GOODS OF GOD. 



I. The goods of the mind : supernatural ; science and learning ; 
honor and esteem. II. Goods of the body : form and beauty ; 
strength and health ; life. III. Goods of fortune : dignity and 
power ; nobility ; riches ; fruits of the earth. 

" And the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods." 

(Luke 16 : 1.) 

I do not doubt that if an Angel of God, coming to us, 
would say that some one is squandering the goods of God, 
who shortly will be called to judgment, we would all 
tremble. So also the Apostles when Christ said to them : 
" One of you will betray me " ; all trembled and looked at 
one another as though each one suspected himself saying : 
"Is it I ?" In to-day's gospel the Lord clearly indicates that 
many such men are found who waste the goods of God. 
Will I or this one or that one be found such ? What shall we 
do when we hear the Lord commanding : " Render an account 
of your stewardship ?" Let each one study in time and ex- 
amine himself whether he is such as we see in the gospel 
cited before the tribunal and deposed from office, lest at 
some time the same thing happen to him also. 

I. There are three kinds of goods which man has received 
from God : goods of mind, of body and of fortune. To the 
goods of mind belong first, the supernatural, as grace. 
This certainly they waste who by sinning expel it from 
themselves. Insane was that prodigality of Cleopatra, Queen 
of Egypt, who, through pride and haughtiness, took from 
her ear a great and most costly pearl, and having dissolved 
it in a bowl of vinegar, consumed it. But this is nothing 
to the prodigality of the sinner who by one taste of sin wastes 
and consumes grace, the ornament of the soul and the price 
of a heavenly kingdom. Who will not be incensed at such 

206 



WASTING THE GOODS OF GOD. 207 

a squanderer ? Cleopatra took the other pearl and was 
about to do the same with it, but was restrained by Lucius 
Plancus, who was enraged at such extravagance. And we 
do not strive to prevent ourselves or our neighbors from sin. 
Secondly, science and learning. They waste this good who 
do not use it for their own or others' benefit. As he loses 
gold who buries it in the earth, so also he loses science who 
communicates it to no one. Hence the wise man says : 
" Wisdom that is hid and treasure that is not seen: what 
profit is there in them both ? " (Eccl. 20 : 32.) How much 
sweat is used to heap up a treasure ! how much labor to ac- 
quire science ! What malice therefore to abuse both ! Those 
men are like the stags of Epirns which, as Aristotle says, 
through envy or sloth, hide in the ground the right horn 
endowed with physical strength. This horn is science, which 
one through sloth or envy hides from others, and who as its 
squanderer will render an account to God ; for those who, 
by habitual drunkenness, destroy science and learning become 
useless to themselves and others. What benefit is it to build 
a merchant-ship if, after it is launched, you sink it ? What 
benefit to have acquired science at very great expense if, 
when you should communicate it to your neighbor, you bury 
it in sloth and drunkenness ? Secondly, those who use it for 
evil, fraud, vanity, self-praise, vain-glory and to the det- 
riment of others. Eightly has it been said : " Science 
without the fear of God is as a sword in the hand of a mad- 
man. " Thirdly, honor and esteem, whose squanderers are 
those who live at their ease and care not what others think 
of them ; unmindful of the words of the wise man : " Take 
care of a good name." We know that Judas was indignant 
because Mary Magdalene poured a most precious ointment 
on the Lord ; he would have reason to be if she had poured 
it on the earth. But a much more unworthy thing it is if 
a good name is wasted. iC A good name is better than pre- 
cious ointments" (Eccles. T). In the second chapter of 
the Canticle of Canticles we read that Christ the spouse of 
our souls feeds among lilies. " Lilies excel not only by 
their whiteness but also by their odor," says St. Bernard. 
Such should be the Christian, also excelling by the whiteness 
of his conscience and the odor of a good name : i ' We owe 
our conscience to God and our good name to our neighbor," 
says St. Bernard. So Judas did not say badly that the oint- 
ment should be given to the poor, for the odor of a good 



208 EIGTHH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

name is necessary for those especially who are poor in virtue. 
Secondly, those who live sordidly and shamelessly, and who 
defile their name by public scandals. Those, in a manner, 
give their souls to the devil and all manner of crimes. He 
who would destroy the hedge around his garden or the walls 
around his city, would be considered as laying waste the 
garden and city themselves. This he does, who wastes a 
good name. A good name is the guardian of virtue and 
honesty, and this taken away, the entrance to the soul is 
open for all vices whatsoever. 

II. The goods of the body are first, form and beauty. 
These are wasted by those who use them for lasciviousness, 
and who seek after vile pleasures and vain-glory ; no less 
than those who would cast an elegant picture into the mire. 
Hence Solomon says: "A gold ring in a swine's snout, a 
woman fair and foolish" (Prov. 11 ; 22). A pig rooting in 
the ground, soils the gold ring in his snout ; so a foolish 
woman indulging in vice destroys the beauty of form received 
from God, and which she could possess with grace and 
dignity. Secondly, strength and health. They waste this 
good who do not use it wisely, in things pleasing to God and 
beneficial to themselves and others ; but for seeking vanity, 
ostentation, etc. Hence they deserve to be deprived of it 
by God ; by taking away their gifts from those not using 
them. " Take the pound away from him and give it to him 
that hath the ten pounds" (Luke 19 : 24). Secondly, those 
who destroy it by inordinate freedom of life, by idleness, 
delights, drunkenness, etc. By these daggers very many 
wound themselves. Thirdly, life. They waste this who, 
without reason, place themselves in manifest danger, as 
fighters, crazy drinkers and suicides. Again, those who do 
not strive to preserve their lives, as those in dangerous sick- 
ness do not consult a doctor for fear of his making his charge 
too high. It is a cruel avarice which wishes to lose rather 
life than money, and does not allow the possessor to use the 
necessary means for preserving it. " There is also another 
evil, which I have seen and that frequent among men : " A 
man to whom God hath given riches and substance and 
honor . . . yet God doth not give him power to eat there- 
of " (Eccles. 6 : 12). Hence good men did not count the 
years of their life unless those which they had spent well ; 
as Barlaam answered Josaphat, who asked him how old he 
was. He said he was forty-five, although a septuagenarian ; 



WASTING THE GOODS OF GOD. 209 

because he had lived only forty-five years for God. The 
epitaph of Hadrian Similius read : " Here lies H. S., who 
led a long life, but lived only seven years." These only he 
had lived well. How much do they waste who spend the 
whole time of life in the j)ursuit of vanity ! Titus, when on 
any night he remembered that he had done nothing good 
that day, was accustomed to say : " To-day I have lost a 
day." We do not think we lose a day, days or years when we 
speak an idle word, etc. Do not merchants who give them- 
selves' up to sport during business hours lose much profit ? 
This they do who do not devote the short time of life to God, 
who gather no merits for themselves, and who do not repent 
of past offenses. 

III. Among the goods of fortune are named first, dignity 
and power, which good those waste who do not use it when 
there is need. Magistrates received a sword, but while they 
did not unsheath it, they allowed it to become rusty. Of 
these Jeremias says : " Cursed be he that withholdeth his 
sword from blood" (48 : 10). So the magistrate who does 
not justly punish delinquents, makes them worse, and brings 
their crimes on themselves, for which they will be account- 
able to God. Secondly, those who abuse this good, for luxury, 
pride, rapine, contempt and oppression of the poor. They 
soil and use for tyranny the crown and scepter given them 
to preserve their lives and to regulate the lives of their sub- 
jects. The sword was given them, not that they themselves 
should be free but to free others, not to wound their subjects 
but rather to defend them. " Solicitude not dignity, is the 
office of a prelate," says St. Bernard. " 0, shepherd and 
idol that forsaketh the flock : the sword upon his right arm 
and upon his right eye" (Zach. 11 : 17). Such wish to be 
adored as an idol ; and. when they should be shepherds, they 
are butchers, who have the sword in hand, and their eye on 
the fattened ones as they slay them. So David looked on 
Bethsabee, and because she pleased him, he sent his ministers 
to bring her, and they stole her from her husband. So rulers 
and magistrates use the sword to threaten their subjects, and 
whatever they see, they want for themselves, whether it be 
just or not. They should study the lives of their subjects, 
to be of service to them ; on the contrary, they are always 
planning how to bleed them. Of these it is said : " There 
is a judgment against you, because you have been a snare to 
them whom you should have watched over " (Osee 5 : 1), 
4 



210 EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Thirdly, riches which are wasted in various ways. First, 
when one lives more extravagantly than he can afford and 
beyond his station in life ; and especially, when money is 
spent for unlawful purposes. Secondly, when one shares with 
those he should not ; when one is liberal towards wicked 
rather than towards honest people ; towards strangers, rather 
than poor and needy friends and relations ; towards intem- 
perate rather than temperate ; towards rich rather than poor ; 
towards horses and dogs, rather than suffering humanity. 
Thirdly, when something is given which should not be given ; 
something harmful and dangerous, though by accident it was 
promised. Truly Agesilaus said : " If it is just what you 
ask, I promised it ; if it is unjust, I did not promise it.** 
Fourthly, when they are not bestowed discreetly ; when 
everything is given to one person and nothing to others, and 
this without reason or advice. Fifthly, with a bad intention 
for the sake of receiving human praise ; with the design of 
receiving equally as much if not more ; of obtaining a higher 
office. In these and like ways, they sow in water whatever 
they scatter and more so waste it. " Amen, I say to you, 
you have received your reward." Sixthly, when they are 
shared with no one, but are hidden away through a miserly 
spirit of avarice. Fourthly, those waste the fruits of the 
earth, who use them immoderately in luxury and intemper- 
ance. These are like ducks that are not satisfied to drink 
from the vessel, but must plunge in and take a bath. Sec- 
ondly, those who hide them from the poor who are in need 
of assistance ; and for this reason they are often punished, 
and the fruits themselves destroyed by worms or fire or other 
cause. To all these, God says through Osee : "I gave her 
corn and wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold 
which they have used in the service of Baal " (2 : 8). Who- 
ever wastes the goods of God do this, for they sacrifice them to 
the devil, the world and the flesh, and when they shall appear 
before the judgment seat of God, they shall hear : il Bender 
an account of your stewardship, for now thou canst be stew- 
ard no longer." 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

THE DEATH OF THE SIK^EE. 



I. Enemies shall surround him : by frightening him with specters ; 
by assailing with temptations ; by assailing with sins com- 
mitted. II. They shall straighten him on all sides. III. They 
shall beat him flat to the ground : because he will be taken away 
by violence ; because he has forgotten spiritual things ; because 
he is urged to despair. IV. Nor shall they leave a stone upon a 
stone : because he will be despoiled of his goods ; he will be de- 
prived of the fruit of works done without grace ; his vows will 
amount to nothing. 

" For the days shall come upon thee " (Luke 19 : 43). 

It seems that many no more fear to-day's gospel than an 
exploded bomb or an empty rifle. They think that the 
preaching and the warning of Christ is already complete with 
the Jews, and does not pertain to others. Whence, they 
seem to say : " these days shall not come upon us." Yet we 
clearly see those things, which in the gospel are predicted of 
the impenitent Jews, are predicted also of those dying in sin, 
and hence this gospel is a twofold prophecy : one which re- 
lates to the Jews, the other to all sinners. For as the de- 
struction of Jerusalem is a type of the annihilation of sinners ; 
so it is understood that those things which literally happened 
to Jerusalem will spiritually happen to man dying in the 
state of sin. Let us examine each one separately. 

I. " Thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee and com- 
pass thee round." This happened to the Jews because they 
were surrounded by the Roman army and encompassed by a 
wall and trench. The devils will do this to the dying sinner. 
First, by frightening him with cruel and horrid specters, in 
the form of dragons, lions, serpents, etc. Sinners who led 
beastly lives, and clothed themselves with the vices of beasts, 
are justly terrified by the devils with the forms of atrocious 
and horrible beasts, so that they behold with their eyes what 
they were and what they adored. Secondly, by assaulting 

211 



212 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

them with temptations and stimulating them by the scourges 
of worldly affairs so that they will not have time to think of 
their salvation. For as the Hebrews were then especially 
crushed by Pharao with labors and stripes when they wished 
to depart from him and sacrifice to God ; and as when the 
drivers of horses on nearing the goal urge their steeds with 
whip and spur ; so when sinners are nearing the goal of life, 
then especially are they bitterly assaulted by the devil, who 
then comes down to them, " having great wrath, knowing 
that he hath but a short time " (Apoc. 11 : 12). And Christ 
enlarges this by saying : " Thy enemies shall cast a trench 
about thee and compass thee round." Thirdly, by laying 
before them sins committed and exaggerating them from their 
multitude, their foulness and ingratitude and constant repe- 
tition. The sins, which in the beginning the devil persuades 
and makes light of, in the end, when one is about to die, he 
aggravates so as to lead him to despair. He shows him sins 
surrounding him on all sides, tells him there is no hope of 
escape and thus easily fills him with despair. This is what 
David feared when he said : " Why shall I fear in the evil- 
day ? The iniquity of my heel shall accompany me " 
(Ps. 48 : 6) ; that is, if in the hour of death, I shall find my 
sins around me, they will surround me like a wall and there 
will be no chance for escape. This wall the devil shall build 
from the multitude of sins which one has committed. Of 
that figuratively, of Nabuchodonosor literally, Habacuc 
speaks : " And he shall laugh at every stronghold, and shall 
cast up a mount and shall take it " (Tyre 1 : 10). As many 
vices as one has committed, with so many trenches shall the 
demons surround the unfortunate one ; and as though already 
conquered and taken they shall rejoice over him. 

II. " They shall straiten thee on all sides/' — This hap- 
pened to Jerusalem ; it was straitened on the outside by the 
Eomans, and inside by famine, pestilence, rapine and sedi- 
tions, so that there was no escape. This will happen to the 
dying reprobate. Job very well describes the perplexities of 
the dying sinner when he says : <( The lamp of the wicked 
shall be put out and a deluge come upon them " (21 : 17). For 
as before the deluge all the bound-up waters were held in the 
clouds, in the abyss of the sea and in fountains lest they 
should injure men who therefore traveled freely all the paths 
of sin ; suddenly, however, the deluge came, and from every- 
where most copious waters flowed ; from the heavens, earth. 



Me death of the sinner. 213 

8ea and fountains, and crashed men on all sides ; so, while 
the sinner lives, he freely goes along and rejoices in his pos- 
sessions ; bufc, when he approaches the gates of death, then 
from all sides the most copious waters of grief and anxiety 
rush upon him. Wherever he looks, he can see no escape, 
find no defender. If he looks up he sees an angry God 
offended thousands of times ; if he looks down, he sees hell, 
that bottomless pit yawning for his soul ; if he looks into 
himself, he sees the worm of conscience gnawing and accusing; 
if he looks outside, he sees friends and relatives filled with 
sorrow at the thought of parting, sometimes troublesome and 
importuning for a share of his goods, and very often hinder- 
ing him on the road to salvation. He sees all the goods he 
must leave behind. Around him everywhere are the hosts 
of demons, ensnaring him and waiting for the departure of 
his soul, like cats watching for their prey to appear. Before 
him he sees death, too, suddenly approaching. There he will 
cast his eyes on the tomb which he will be forced to enter. 
Behind him is the judgment, severe and uncertain, in which 
he will pay all his debts to God, which he contracted in this 
world by gluttony, pleasures and riotous living. If Baltassar, 
on seeing the handwriting on the wall, thongh unintelligible 
to him, so trembled that his face was changed and his knees 
knocked together, how will he feel who sees already the final 
sentence to be written against him, sees himself already in 
the balance and in one side so much weight of sin placed 
against him ? And this is the sad and dark time of which 
Ecclesiastes speaks : i ( If a man live many years and have 
rejoiced in them all, he must remember the darksome time 
and the many days which, when they shall come, the things 
passed shall be accused of vanity" (11 : 8). ~No one is cer- 
tain that he will live many years, nor can he be always happy 
in them, who is not sure of the morrow. Can one sentenced 
to death be happy for a moment ? Grant that a man live a 
long and happy life, he should, however, remember " the dark- 
some time and the many days ; " that is, death whose time is 
short though it seems long on account of its straitness and 
that which follows eternity. That will be a darksome time 
because it will be filled with sadness whether you consider 
the senses and pains of the body, friends or relatives or 
counseling priests ; because it is a doubtful exit. The sin- 
ner sees himself standing and knocking at the gates of heaven 
or the gates of hell. What darkness ! what griefs ! 



214 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

III. "They shall beat thee and thy children flat to the 
ground." — This happened to Jerusalem because, not only the 
buildings in it were overthrown, but its people were either 
destroyed by pestilence or killed or led into captivity. The 
same happens to the dying sinner. First, because unwill- 
ingly forced with great violence he severs the ties of life and 
is laid in the grave ; because he was strongly bound to the 
world like a lofty tree, which fixes its powerful roots deep in 
the earth and is not destroyed by the storm without great 
violence and resistance. death, how bitter is the remem- 
brance of thee to a man that hath peace in his possessions ! 
Because he did not think beforehand about death, and seeing 
it now before him he is astonished and dismayed ; like stuck 
pigs frightfully grunting and groaning because they feel 
death coming. So that fat and trembling king, Agag, ordered 
by Samuel to be put to death, said : " Doth bitter death 
separate in this manner?" (1 Kings 15:32). And so he 
who thought only of life is suddenly cast into the grave. 
But with what swiftness will he be hurled into hell ! Satan 
himself fell like lightning from heaven, so will his followers 
fall into hell. Secondly, because all his thoughts are turned 
to earthly matters : the intenseness of his malady, his wife and 
children, his will, doctors, medicine, etc., he forgets spiritual 
things. " He is so taken up with worldly things that when 
dying he forgets himself, who while living forgot his God," 
says St. Augustine. It often happens that then he reviews the 
charms of those sins in which, when well, he took great de- 
light. The proud and vain, when dying, wish to be decked 
with all their jewels ; the misers and avaricious tenaciously 
clutch their gold in the clammy grasp of death ; the power- 
ful and ambitious issue their accustomed orders, not knowing 
that they will be obeyed for the last time. Is not this to be 
beaten to the ground ? Thirdly, because he is urged to de- 
spair, either by evil spirits, or by his own crimes, with his 
thoughts arousing and exciting his soul. Despair is secure 
which entirely destroys the tree, and by one blow hurls it to 
earth. Thus" acted Julian the apostate, when taking the 
blood from his wound, he cast it towards heaven, crying out : 
" Thou hast conquered, Galilean I" Calvin, when dying of 
a loathsome disease, invoked the devil, blaspheming God. 

IV. "Nor shall they leave in thee a stone upon a stone." 
This happened to Jerusalem, because it was destroyed by 
Titus and afterwards entirely blotted out and moved from its 



THE DEATH OF THE SINNER. 215 

site by Adrian. This happens in the death of the wicked. 
First, he is despoiled of all his goods and fortunes in which 
he reveled, and there is nothing left him but a winding sheet. 
St. Mark narrates that one time when Jesus was leaving the 
temple, which he had predicted would be destroyed in three 
days, one of his disciples pointing to that magnificent pile 
said : " Master, behold what manner of stones and what 
buildings are here" (Mark 13 : 1). St. Luke adds that he 
called to mind the goodly stones and gifts which adorned 
it, and which should not be destroyed. But what did Christ 
answer ? i ' These things which you see the days will come 
in which there shall not be left a stone upon a stone that 
shall not be thrown down " (Luke 21 : 6). This happened to 
the temple, not figuratively but truly, first, under Adrian, then 
under Julian, for the Jews, wishing to rebuild it, dug up the 
old foundations, and then fire came and destroyed it entirely. 
This daily happens to dying sinners. See a prince of this 
world endowed with riches and power, attended by a retinue 
of servants, arrayed in majesty, glory and splendor. What 
stones, what a structure ! But all these shall be destroyed : 
wealth, glory, pomp, servants and the very bones of the body 
so that a bone shall not be left upon a bone. See the adorn- 
ment, the pride, the vanity, the beaut}? - of woman — all shall 
be destroyed. The more a sinner delights in those things, 
the more bitterly shall he feel their loss ; and what were 
before his dearest idols will now be his bitterest cross. The 
body which he pampered, nourished with delicacies, and 
clothed with elegance, will now be relegated to the earth ; 
the senses to be closed and composed in perpetual sleep ; a 
dear wife and children to be committed to the care of others ; 
his house and grounds to be left forever. Oh, the bitterness 
of things formerly so sweet ! Secondly, he is deprived of the 
fruit of his works, whether good or evil, for good works with- 
out grace avail nothing for salvation. While the sinner adds 
usury to usury, drunkenness to drunkenness, pleasure to pleas- 
ure, sin to sin, he places a stone upon a stone. While he adds 
lot to lot, palace to palace, gold to gold, even also moral good 
works ; charity to charity, justice to justice, he places a stone 
upon a stone, and rears a great structure. But at the hour 
of death there shall not be left a stone upon a stone ; because 
these shall all crumble ; his labors will count for nought. 
As a stone cut without hands destroyed the statue which 
Nabuchodonosor had made of gold, silver, brass, clay and 



£16 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

iron, and reduced it to ashes (Dan. 2 : 34) ; so death secretly 
coming overturns and destroys the whole structure of the 
sinner which he had built of bad, indifferent and good works. 
Thirdly, his vows and promises amount to nothing. " I will 
pull down my barns and will build greater : and unto them 
will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. 
And I will say to my soul : Soul, thou hast much goods laid 
up for many years, take thy rest, eat, drink and make 
good cheer " (Luke 12 : 18, 19). He built in the air, for on 
the following night he was dead, and his building vanished. 
The promise of doing penance, of restoring ill-gotten goods, 
of avoiding strong drink, of redeeming sins by almsgiving 
and other works, such promises no doubt the sinner often 
made or at least conceived when seriously ill : If I could re- 
cover from this sickness, I would change my life ; if only 
to-morrow were given to me, then I would confess and receive 
the Sacraments ; then he would prefer a life of penance to 
one of luxury ; to be hungry with Lazarus and despised by 
the world rather than to feast with the rich man. Alas, in 
the hour of death all these will have flown. Since, therefore, 
we understand that the threats made in to-day's gospel apply 
not only to the Jews but to each one of us, let us turn our 
eyes, not to Jerusalem already destroyed, but to the temple of 
our own bodies soon to be overthrown. And if Christ thought 
the Jews were to be pitied who, placed in such danger, failed 
to provide for themselves, are we also not to be pitied who, 
after so many warnings, do not prepare for our imminent de- 
parture and that an eternal one ? If we are wise, let us de- 
plore our sins here lest we be forced to weep in vain forever 
there, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. 



TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

DEFECTIVE PRAYER OF THE PHARISEE. 



I. He sins by recounting his good works : with an evil purpose ; 
ascribing them to himself ; cloaking his boasting ; valuing 
highly things not great. II. Removing sins from himself ; not 
accusing himself ; removing grave ones only ; those only by 
which his neighbor is offended ; not acknowledging his hid- 
den sins. III. By comparing himself with the publican ; 
rashly judging his neighbor ; accusing the same ; despising 
the same ; praising himself above others. IV. The good 
prayer of the publican. 

" The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus with himself " (Luke 18 : 11). 

We discern the wonderful judgment of God in to-day's 
gospel. St. John Chrysostom says : " The sinner excels the 
just man, the publican the Pharisee, and words were supe- 
rior to facts." How were words? The Pharisee says: "I 
am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers ; I 
fast twice in a week ; I give tithes of all I possess." The 
Pharisee boasted of works of justice ; the publican spoke 
words of modesty, and words availed more than deeds. 
Such a treasure is rejected with scorn ; such poverty is 
changed into wealth. "There came two ships heavily laden; 
they both entered port ; but the publican sails in safety, 
while the Pharisee has been shipwrecked." The ship of the 
Pharisee was great and built with the equipment of good 
works, yet it was shipwrecked. The ship of the publican 
was weak and poorly built, and it arrived safe in the port of 
salvation. "This man went down to his house justified 
rather than the other." Let us see in what the Pharisee 
was wanting. 

I. He sinned first, because he recounts his good works 
with a bad end in view, namely, to justify himself. It is 
not always bad to enumerate one's good works ; but it is 
good and allowable when it is done for the glory of God or 

217 



218 TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

the benefit of our neighbor, as did Job, Ezechiel and Paul. 
But neither of these urged the Pharisee to recount his works. 
Agitated, therefore, by mere vanity, he pleased himself in 
his works as a peacock in the feathers of his tail. For this 
reason, he stood near the altar as though he were a just man 
and a friend of God, and this is inferred because the publi- 
can alone is said to have stood at the door. Secondly, be- 
cause he ascribes his works to himself and his own industry. 
He does not say: "I am not, by your gift of grace, like 
other men;" as Paul said: " By the grace of God, I am 
what I am/' He looks on gratuitous gifts as owing to him, 
which is great ingratitude, as if one were to give thanks for 
a golden vase as though it were silver. This is to kiss the 
hand, which Job counted the greatest iniquity : u If I have 
kissed my hand with my mouth, which is a very great in- 
iquity" (32:27). Thirdly, because he cloaks his boasting 
and elation with the religious garb of thanksgiving, while in 
the meantime he gives thanks rather to himself than to God. 
Wherefore, he acts the hypocrite and tries to thrust upon 
God false money for sound ; like that servant of King To- 
tila, who, arrayed in the garments of his master, came to St. 
Benedict, hoping to deceive him. But the fictitious king 
heard the saint say: " Son, put off what you carry, because 
it is not yours." By a like scheme all hypocrites adorn 
themselves, and under strange masks strive to deceive God; 
but they will one day hear him say: " Put off what you 
carry, for it is not yours." Certainly he discovered the 
Pharisee in to-day's gospel and exposed his fraud. They 
imitate the Pharisees who recount their works, lying mean- 
while, that they seek not their own but God's glory. 
Fourthly, because he lays too much stress on his works and 
rates them greater than they are. He enumerates only ex- 
ternal works, which often contain a disguise, and are not 
always necessary for salvation ; he does not remember the 
internal works of faith, hope, charity, humility, mercy, etc., 
which are the principal and necessary ones. The devil easily 
tolerates external works, so that by them you may become 
proud and rest secure in sin. The works coming from a bad 
workshop, namely, vainglory, do not merit j)raise, but rather 
conlusion. Then he recounted only two works : " I fast 
twice in a week, and I give tithes of all I possess," as though 
in these alone consisted perfection. Where is almsgiving, 
the other wing of prayer ? Where the other works ? And 



DEFECTIVE PRAYER OF THE PHARISEE. 219 

so many attend to external works only and neglect internal; 
they do not heed whether they perform them with good or 
bad intention. Finally, as long as they perform one work or 
another, they fulfil one or another precept ; they count them- 
selves already just, not hearing the Lord saying: "It is 
necessary to do this and not to omit that." St. Gregory says: 
" The Pharisee by elation opened the city of his heart to the 
besiegers, which he closed in vain by fasting and almsgiv- 
ing. The others are fortified in vain while there is one place 
not fortified, where there is an opening for the enemy." 

II. He sinned, because in no way does he accuse himself, 
as though he were entirely innocent. Solomon says : " The 
just is first accuser of himself" (Prov. 18 : 17). Hence the 
same Solomon prescribed this form of prayer : " We have 
sinned, we have done unjustly, we have committed wicked- 
ness " (3 Kings 8 : 47). The holy men Daniel, Azarias and 
Baruch used the same formula. Beggars travel in tattered 
garments and expose their wounds to excite pity. Could they 
do this if they were dressed in style and wore jewelry ? This 
the Pharisee did who, while he should recount his miseries 
to obtain relief from God, recounts his good works. Sec- 
ondly, because he removes from himself only grave sins : 
rapine, injustice, adultery ; he cares not for the lighter ones, 
nor does he seek to profit by the example of his betters. 
(t But, let everyone prove his own work, and so he shall 
have glory in himself only, and not in another " (Galat. 
6 : 4). The sense of this, according to St. Hilary, is : "You 
consider yourself spiritual and are stronger by the infirmity 
of another ; you should not consider the weakness of one 
lying down, but your strength." An athlete, therefore, is not 
strong because he conquers a weak man, but if he be robust ; 
and he glories in his own strength, not in the weakness of 
another. Therefore, the Pharisee was not immediately 
just and pleasing to God because he was not unjust and an 
adulterer. Some swiftly hasten to hell, others step by step. 
It is enough for the hunter if he holds the falcon by one 
foot, although the other is free ; so it is enough for the devil 
to know that you are held by one, even though light, mortal 
sin. Wherefore, the apostle advises us to consider, " not 
the things which are behind, but those that are before." 
Thirdly, he cleanses himself from those sins only by which 
he offends his neighbor ; he does not remember those bj 
which God is offended, and he counts them as nothing. So 



220 TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

also those who do not fear God, but men only, count and 
heed those sins only which injure their neighbor. The 
injuries done to God they heed not. On this account the 
Lord reprehended the Pharisees who said: " Whosoever 
shall swear by the temple, it is nothing : but he that shall 
swear by the gold of the temple is a debtor " (Matt. 23 : 16). 
For it was the custom among the Jews for rich and poor to 
place their goods in the temple, as the safest place. There- 
fore to swear by this gold of their neighbors was a grave 
crime ; to swear by the temple of God was nothing. But 
what did the Lord say to these ? " Ye foolish and blind : 
for whether is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifieth 
the gold ? " Which is greater, to offend a servant, or a king, 
man or God ? Fourthly, he does not pray God to remit those 
other sins, which he does not discover in himself. The 
most holy men, even though they could find no sin in them- 
selves, nevertheless feared lest they should be attached to 
hidden ones. Holy David, when he said to God that he ob- 
served the commandments, with fear added : "Who can 
understand sins ? From my secret ones cleanse me, Lord : 
and from those of others spare thy servant" (Ps. 18 : 13). 
He corrects himself as though to say : I said that I observe 
thy commandments, but how much does human frailty 
suffer. " For I am not conscious to myself of anything, yet 
I am not here justified" (1 Cor. 4 : 4). St Basil says : 
" Since we may offend in many things, we do not understand 
the greater part of our offenses," and therefore, the apostle 
said : " I am not conscious to myself." He concludes finally 
that you will not lie if you call yourself a sinner. This is 
what the Pharisee should have adverted to. 

III. He sins because he rashly judges his neighbor. He 
accuses the publican and others of rapine, injustice and 
adultery ; which things are known only to the searcher of 
hearts. Wherefore, by a twofold reason, he constitutes him- 
self a robber. First, because he arrogates to himself what 
belongs to God : to know the ways of man. Secondly, be- 
cause without cause he, in his heart, steals esteem from his 
neighbor. Even though he had seen nothing good in tho 
publican, he should not think evil of him ; and more so wheiu. 
he saw that he had come to the temple. He should think 
that he had come there to ask pardon of God for his sins. 
What perversity to draw evil from good signs ! " Wherefore, 
thou art inexcusable, man, whosoever thou art that 



DEFECTIVE PRAYER OF THE PHARISEE. 221 

judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemn- 
est thyself. For thou dost the same things which thou 
judgest" (Rom. 2 : 11). You call the publican a robber, 
and you are a twofold robber. Secondly, because he accuses 
his neighbor before God, imitating the devil "the accuser of 
our brothers," who accuses men in the sight of God. Nay, 
he is worse than the devil, for the devil does not accuse his 
own brothers, but ours only. Although God highly detests 
sin, however, he wishes us rather to excuse the sins of others 
than to accuse them, as Christ did on the cross, praying for 
his murderers: "Father, forgive them for they know not 
what they do." Thirdly, because he despises his neighbor 
when he says : " As also is this publican." This is a common 
fault with the proud. " Whilst the wicked man is proud, 
the poor is set on fire " (Ps. 9 : 21) ; that is, the wicked 
man says such bitter words about the poor that he seems to 
cast fire on him. Pride is called smoke by David. " The 
pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually " (Ps. 
73:23). As smoke expels men from buildings, so pride 
vexes and afflicts the neighbor ; so that it is difficult to live 
under the same roof with a proud man. The proud man is 
not content like smoke to ascend above others, he must also 
vex and despise them. So the Pharisee was not satisfied 
with lauding himself, he must besides despise the poor pub- 
lican. Agar was not satisfied with being pregnant, she 
must laud it over her mistress — for, seeing herself with child, 
"she despised her mistress" (Gen. 16:4). So Phenenna 
upbraided the sterility of Anna (1 Kings 1:6). What 
was the reason Goliath did not draw his sword against David ? 
Scripture says that David drew the sword from the scabbard 
of the prostrate Goliath. Goliath, presuming on his strength, 
despised David and thought him unworthy his steel. And 
so the proud do not deign to notice their inferiors, to speak 
or to walk with them. Fourthly, he praises himself above 
others as though he were better than all. "lam not as 
other men," etc. ; in this very saying, by arrogance, he 
makes himself like them. Isaias says of the proud : "And 
the unicorns shall go down with them " (34 : 7). With the 
vile and abject into hell. The proud are called unicorns, 
because like them they travel alone, rearing aloft their heads 
and declining the company of others ; so the proud do not 
wish to be among men but above them ; they wish to have 
everything below them, nothing on a level, David prayed : 



222 TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

" Save me from the lion's month, and my lowness from the 
horns of unicorns " (Ps. 21 : 22). Him whom the devil in 
no other way can conquer, he conquers by esteem, and strikes 
him with the horns of unicorns. The Pharisee, who could 
not be conquered by luxury and rapine, is conquered by 
pride. " Be not lifted up on high/' warns the Lord. 

IV. We saw what happened to the ship of the Pharisee ; 
let us briefly see what happened to the ship of the publican. 
He did not recount any of his merits, his humility, his mod- 
esty, his penance, nor any other good work done before. He 
stands in the background. He confesses himself a sinner ; 
he ascribes his sins to himself, not to another, and therefore 
he strikes his breast and for shame does not dare lift up his 
eyes. He does not compare himself with the Pharisee, much 
less does he place himself before him ; he stands behind him; 
he does not judge rashly of him. And " this man went 
down into his house justified rather than the other." The 
Pharisee with Simon Magus soared aloft and was hurled to 
the earth ; the publican crawling on the ground was exalted. 
The former was shipwrecked ; the latter sailed safely into 
port. Therefore, let us avoid the ship of the Pharisee and 
go into the ship of the publican, which will bring us securely 
into the haven of eternal rest. 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

MEANS FOR CURBING THE TONGUE. 



I. Avoid the crowd. II. Consider what you say. III. Remember 
that your tongue is the bearer of the Eucharist. IV. Beg this 
grace from God, and note that he is everywhere present. V. 
Consider the destruction of the tongue. VI. Firmly resolve to 
guard the tongue. 

" And they wonder, saying : he hath done all things well " (Mark 7 : 37). 

The spectators wondered at this miracle in to-day's gospel. 
We also can wonder, not only because he cured the mute, but 
also because of the preambles and ceremonies. I do not re- 
member any one cured so laboriously as this mute. Very 
often by one word Christ healed others ; this one he first led 
from the crowd ; then placed his fingers in his ears ; then 
spitting on the earth he touched his tongue, and after these, 
raising his eyes to heaven, he groaned, and finally restored 
his voice. Why all these ? Was it such a great work to 
make one not altogether mute, but badly speaking, speak 
correctly ? Certainly Christ found no difficulty in this, but 
he wished to impress us how difficult it is to correct and 
curb the tongue that we may never speak badly but correctly. 
So St. James testifies when he says : " For every nature of 
beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest is tamed 
by the nature of man : But the tongue no man can tame, an 
unquiet evil, full of deadly poison" (Epist. 3 : 7, 8). That is, 
it cannot be tamed without the grace of God, in the same way 
as God said : No more than a camel could pass through the 
eye of a needle could a rich man enter heaven without the 
grace of God. The tongue can be tamed, but not without 
the grace of God and great labor. The ceremonies which 
Christ used in curing the mute clearly teach us what we 
must do to learn to speak correctly. 

I. He took the mute from the multitude apart. Go apart 

223 



224 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

from the multitude therefore, and its tumult, if you do not 
wish to speak badly. For it is very difficult to see, or hear, 
many things and not speak of them ; the tongue is in the 
brain, and the mouth of reflection is next it, and what that 
conceives, is soon brought into the mouth. " At the hearing 
of a word, the fool is in travail, as a woman groaning in 
bringing forth a child. As an arrow, that sticketh in a 
man's thigh ; so is a word in the heart of a fool " (Eccli. 19 : 
11, 12). The desire for talking is " as new wine which 
wanteth vent, which bursts the new vessel" (Job 32:19). 
Do you wish not to bring forth from your mouth, aa abor- 
tive word ? See that you do not become heavy with worldly 
rumors ; do not curiously investigate those things which do 
not pertain to you ; avoid especially wicked company, that 
does not know how to speak properly. For it is difficult to 
associate with such and not conform to their manners and 
speech. From the wicked, we learn to speak wickedly ; from 
liars, we learn to lie, from blasphemers, to blaspheme. Pass- 
ing through a market we seek to buy only what we need and 
will be useful ; so in this world, only those things are to be 
examined and imitated which are most useful to us. 

II. Christ spat on the earth. Spittal signifies wisdom, 
because as saliva flows from the head and is gathered in the 
mouth and afterwards ejected — saliva means the taste of 
salt, and salt means wisdom ; so our speech proceeds from 
the brain or judgment, and should be weighed beforehand, 
before it is given forth. " Make a balance for thy words " 
(Eccli. 28 : 29). As gold coin is most carefully weighed so, 
also, should our words. Four things should especially be 
considered : what to speak, how to speak, time for speaking, 
and time for silence. St. Paul tells us what to speak : " Let 
no evil speech proceed from your mouth — but that which is 
good to the edification of faith, etc. " (Ephes. 4 : 29) ; also, 
" Fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not 
so much as be named among you, as becometh saints : or 
obscenity, or foolish talking or scurrility, which is to no pur- 
pose " (5 : 3, 4). As the sailor has all the dangerous places 
marked on his chart, so also, the servant of God should take 
note of all kinds of evil speeches lest he perish in them. In 
the manner of speaking we must take care not to speak too 
delicately, inconsiderately, affectedly, curiously, conten- 
tiously, not to use too fine language. To speak in time and 
opportunely has as much grace as to speak out of season 



MEANS FOR CURBING THE TONGUE. 225 

merits hatred. To speak a word in due time is like apples 
of gold on beds of silver " (Prov. 25 : 11). "A parable com- 
ing out of a fool's mouth shall be rejected : for he doth not 
speak it in due season" (Eccli. 20 :22). The end or the in- 
tention of speech must be looked after, namely, the glory of 
God, and the benefit of our neighbor. Vainglory and 
hypocrisy should be shunned. Besides these it is well to 
note the place and with whom you talk. All these require 
saliva — salt of wisdom of which the apostle speaks : " Let your 
speech be always in grace seasoned with salt " (Colloss. 4 : 6). 
As we dip food in salt, so should the tongue be dipped in 
reason. He who does not observe this is often and gravely 
delinquent. Jephte, judge of the Hebrews, discovered this 
when he hastily vowed to immolate to God the first one 
whom he should meet outside his house. His only daughter 
met him, and then he gave way to violent grief, saying : 
" Alas, my daughter, I have opened my mouth to the Lord, 
and I can do no other thing" (Judges 11 :35). Herod saw 
this when he promised the dancing-girl whatever she should 
ask. Afterwards he was grieved when he saw that she asked 
for the head of John the Baptist. Therefore, as one about to 
leave the house looks to see that everything about him is in 
proper shape so the one about to speak should see that his 
words are fit and decorous. St. Augustine says : " As you 
choose what you eat, so, also, choose what you speak." 

III. He touched the tongue of the mute. And you, 
Christian ! that you may learn to tame your tongue, think 
how often it has been touched by Christ in Holy Commun- 
ion. For your tongue is the vehicle, the royal chariot in 
which Christ comes to you. How can we make this chariot 
of the King of Heaven the chariot of the devil, to carry and 
utter blasphemies and perjuries ? 

IV. He looked up to heaven, showing that the gift of 
right speaking was expected from heaven. If you wish to 
tame your tongue, look up to heaven and fervently, with 
David, beseech God : " Set a watch, Lord,- before my 
mouth : and a door round about my lips" (Ps. 140:3). In 
which place he asks two gifts of the Holy Ghost necessary 
for right speaking: the gift of counsel, that he may know 
what, when and how to speak ; the gift of fortitude, that he 
may dare to speak what he should and fear to speak what he 
should not. The first he asks when he asks a guard ; the 
second when he asks for a door. For these two are mutually 

5 



$26 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

necessary to protect the house. Without a guard, the door 
will be either always closed or always open. Without a door, 
the guard cannot prevent people from coming and going. 
That it is most difficult to tame the tongue we have heard 
already from St. James, who did not hesitate to say, " No 
man can conquer the tongue/' because man from his vitiated 
nature is most prone to talkativeness, to self-praise, to de- 
faming, judging and detracting his neighbor ; and because ; 
great prudence is necessary for speaking rightly, and for this I 
the aid of God should be sought. St. Augustine says : " Let 
us understand that since no man can conquer his tongue, we 
must have recourse to God, who conquers our tongue." To 
conquer animals man is sought ; to conquer man let God be 
sought. And unless the special help of God were required to 
rule the tongue, the wise man would not have said : " It is the 
part of man to prepare the soul : and of the Lord to govern 
the tongue" (Prov. 16 : 1). Look up to heaven, that is, con- 
sider that God is everywhere present and most attentively 
listening to all your words. The old philosophers taught to 
so speak with men as if the gods were listening. Let Chris- 
tians observe this and they will say nothing wicked. 

V. He groaned, considering into how many evils the 
tongue precipitates man. The ungoverned tongue is a horse 
without a bridle, a ship without a rudder, as St. James says 
in his epistle where he speaks of four things of the evil 
tongue. First, the tongue, a small member, exploits great 
things, it boasts. This is the tongue of the flatterer when it 
elevates superiors and makes them higher than they really 
are ; the tongue of the calumniator and detractor, which 
makes the small vices of our neighbor great and the great 
ones greater ; the lying tongue, the quarrelsome tongue, 
murmuring tongue, etc., which makes an elephant out of a 
fly. Such is the tongue of the serpent: "You will be asj 
gods ; " the tongue of the young man instigating Roboam to ' 
oppress his subjects ; the tongue of Job's wife : " Curse God 
and die." But the evil tongue destroys the speaker himself, 
as Cain, the builders of Babel, the young Amalecite, Sennach- 
arib, etc. Secondly, the tongue of fire is a universe of ini- 
quity, because it fills with its iniquity the universe, all states, 
towns, cities, villages and dwellings ; because it is vile and a 
conciliator of iniquity. For all iniquities are either per- 
fected or advised by the tongue, or defended or excused, be- 
cause it wages war against all — God, the angels, saints, just 



MEANS FOR CURBING THE TONGUU. 22? 

men, irrational creatures, the Word of God, sacraments, 
cross of Christ, his passion, blood, wounds, all virtues, 
heaven and the elements ; then because, like a university, it 
teaches all iniquities as a university teaches all sciences. 
Thirdly, the tongue stains the whole body because it stains 
the whole man with a foul odor of lewdness, strifes, wounds 
and infamy as a fire blackens everything which it burns. 
And as the murmuring tongue of Mary, the sister of Moses, 
covered her with leprosy, so the evil tongue of murmurers 
afflicts the whole man ; the heart thinks evil of the neighbor ; 
the ears do not admit his prayers and excuses ; the eyes be- 
hold him grievously ; the tongue does not defend his inno- 
cence ; it hides virtue ; the nose does not smell his good name 
and laudable life ; the hands give him nothing, arrange noth- 
ing, procure nothing. Fourthly, it inflames the circle of 
our birth ; that is, the entire course of our life in the same 
way that hot-iron tires affect wheels when they encompass 
them. So the evil tongue occupies the whole course of life. 
Some vices affect certain periods of life : petulance, child- 
hood ; sensuality, youth ; ambition, middle life ; avarice, old 
age ; all, however, grow old and die with man ; but the vice 
of the tongue occupies the whole life. For lies, detractions, 
immodest speeches, murmurs, derisions, trifles, etc., are 
heard as well from old as from young. Finally, it inflames 
and burns man in hell, as is evident from the story of the 
rich man who begged for a drop of water. Considering these 
and like evils of the tongue, Christ groaned, because men do 
not weigh these, and to teach us to groan over these evils 
and to carefully avoid them. 

VII. He said to him : " Be thou opened." By this word, as 
by a key, he opened the tongue of the mute. That key signi- 
fies a firm purpose of moderating the tongue, of closing it by 
silence and not opening it without cause and previous reflec- 
tion, of freeing our minds with the briefest speech possible. 
Make doors and bars to thy mouth " (Eccli. 28 : 28) ; that is, 
strengthen thy mouth by the virtue of silence, with serious 
resolves, as locks and bars, so that it will never be open, 
unless beforehand, by a decree of reason, you say to it : ' ' Be 
thou opened. " " A hawker does not let loose the hawk unless 
he sees a goose ; and a rational mouth is relaxed to pour forth 
irrational things," says Peter Damien. 

" I said : I will take heed to my ways : that I sin not with 
my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth, when the sinner 



228 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

stood against me " (Ps. 38 : 1, 2). That this vow may b© 
more efficacious, add some punishment to it, if you nave 
blundered with the tongue. " Melt your gold and silver," 
that is, restrain your words which as gold and silver you should 
guard ; as when one is about to travel into foreign countries, 
he melts his gold and silver plate. It is not necessary to say 
few things in many words, but many things in few words. 
For the word melt others like St. Ambrose read bind ; bind 
your speech lest it swell out, lest it become obscene and cause 
many sins, as garments trailing on the ground are wont to 
gather dust and mud. Speak very little, and slowly and con- 
siderately according to the advice of Seneca : " The greatest 
of all great things is this : I command you to be slow of 
speech." Let each one say and implant in his heart : " I 
will take heed to my ways : that I sin not with the tongue. 
There is a Greek proverb which says : " Tongue, whither 
goest thou ? to build a city and finally destroy it ? " The 
Wise man says : " Death and life are in the power of the 
tongue " (Prov. 18 : 21). 

Like a janitor, ask your tongue going out : <l Tongue, 
whither goest thou ? " to build a city, go and build it ; to 
destroy a city, stay at home in your room. If we curb the 
tongue with this bridle, it will build for us a city in heaven, 
because, as St. James says : "If one does not offend by the 
tongue, this is a perfect man." 



TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

MANIFOLD FALSE FRIENDSHIP. 



I. False friends are those who approve everything. II. Who praise 
one before his face. III. Who render homage. IV. Who are 
companions of the table and of gain. V. Relations. VI. Pa- 
trons and companions in crime. VII. Who love by turns. 

" And who is my neighbor ? " (Luke 10 : 29). 

This is not an easy nor a useless question : "Who is my 
neighbor ? " Not easy because the old law seems to have given 
reason for this question : " Thou shalt love thy friend as 
thyself." Since it is uncertain who can be considered a friend 
or an enemy, not unwisely is it asked: "And who is my 
friend ? " Nor is it useless. For from this ignorance arise 
many uncomfortable things. First, because you do not know 
whom you should avoid ; you will easily shun open enemies, 
not so pretended friends. When the wound of Alexander the 
Great was bound, and his friend Parmenio chided him for ex- 
posing himself to the enemy, he answered : " Do you preserve 
me from my pretended friends, and I will preserve myself 
from my enemies/' Friends killed Alexander, Alcibiades, 
Agesilaus, Antigonus, Demetrius, Caesar, Lentulus, Pyrrhus 
and Pompey whom enemies could not. David is ordered by 
the prophet Gad to return to the land of Juda from the house 
of Moab, as though he would live more securely in the land of 
his open enemy Saul than in the house of his false and sus- 
pected friend. You will often err in your choice of men 
unless you know your friends ; you will do what Joab up- 
braided David for doing : " Thou lovest them that hate thee, 
and thou hatest them that love thee : if Absalom had lived, 
and all we had been slain, then it would have pleased thee " 
(2 Kings 19 : 6). The Lord in to-day's gospel shows us a 
true friend, the Samaritan. 

229 



230 TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

I. Some have for friends those who never contradict them, 
but praise and approve their deeds, or at least excuse them. 
But they err ; for it is said by Isaias : "0 my people, they 
that cali thee blessed, the same deceive thee and destroy the 
way of thy steps" (3:12). God threatens such, saying: 
" Woe to them that sew cushions under every elbow : and 
make pillows for the heads of persons of every age to catch 
souls" (Ezech. 13 : 18). If your bed were the hard floor, 
you would not sleep well ; but if a mattress were placed on it, 
then you could sleep with comfort. So some people sleep in 
their sins, but their conscience at times troubles them, and 
so their rest is broken. What then do false friends do ? 
They excuse, nay, even defend, their crimes or at least by 
silence approve them ; then their masters sleep soundly in 
their sins. But, when they shall awake in judgment, they 
shall see what kind of friends they had, and they shall curse 
them for all eternity. Hence David prays : " The just man 
shall correct me in mercy and shall reprove me : but let not 
the oil of the sinner fatten my head " (Ps. 140 : 5) ; that is, 
I do not wish the smooth tongue of the flatterer who exten- 
uates my sins and paints them in glowing colors ; I wish 
rather for correction. " Oil," says Galen, "if it be mixed 
with cold substances, becomes cold ; if with warm, it becomes 
warm." So those flatterers : Do you assert ? they assert ; 
do you deny ? they deny. Like the chameleon, they put on 
the form of things they see ; like an echo which gives back 
sound ; like a mirror which shows all forms. Oil refreshes 
and allays the pain of a wound ; if it be too hot or too cold, 
it injures the wounded member and causes fever and weak- 
ness. And so the flatteries of such friends. Whence in the 
Psalm cited above, St. Jerome for oil of sinner reads oil of 
poison. Therefore, wise men had for their best friends 
those who corrected their defects. David had his Nathan, 
the Emperor Theoclosius his Ambrose. Finally, the Samar- 
itan who bound the wounds of the injured man poured not 
only oil into them but wine also. Wine stimulates, oil allays, 
and therefore friends are to be reproved, but not without 
kindness. 

II. Some think those friends who praise them to their face 
or from whom they hear things pleasing to themselves. But 
we do not learn this from Proverbs (29 : 5) : "A man that 
speaketh to his friend with flattering and dissembling words 
gpreadeth a net for his feet." St. Ignatius Martyr says : 



MANIFOLD FxlLSE FRIENDSHIP. 231 

" They who praise me scourge me." They are accustomed 
often openly, to detract those whom they praise to their 
face, like Judas to salute a friend with a kiss, and in the 
meantime to betray him ; or as Joab, to kiss Amasa, and to 
stab him in the back. Thus the Pharisees did with Christ ; 
they approach him as friends, and say : " Master, we know 
that thou art a true speaker." True friends do not do this : 
on the contrary, they chide and reprehend those present when 
they fail ; those absent, however, they commend. So Christ 
acted with the Jews, for when present, he chided them : " You 
are of your father the devil " (Matt. 8 : 44) ; but when absent 
he calls them sons. The Samaritan did well in pouring oil 
and wine into the wounds of the injured man. " Oil on the 
outside and wine inside are most agreeable tonics for a man," 
says Pliny. Friends therefore are to be chided on the inside, 
that is, secretly ; outwardly or in public when absent, are to 
be commended. 

III. Some have for friends those who serve them and ex- 
cite recreations. They err, for those friends are built on the 
good fortune of their masters ; but when that is taken away 
they are friends no longer. u He is a friend for the time, 
he will not be found in the day of trial." " My brethren 
have passed by me as the torrent that passeth swiftly in the 
valleys " (Job 6 : 15). If in the rainy season, when thirst 
does not easily afflict the traveler, you cross the torrent, you 
will find it full and swollen ; if a little while after and when 
the sun is pouring down, you cross the same, you will thirst 
and wish to drink and you will not find a single drop in it. 
This is what Job discovered for himself ; for while he was 
happy, he was recognized by many friends ; but when adverse 
fortune overtook him his friends did not know him any 
longer, nor did they speak one word of consolation. Cicero 
says : " ks swallows are present in summer, but fly away at 
the approach of winter, so false friends are present in the 
joyful time of life ; but in time of calamity they disappear ; 
when they see the winter of misfortune, they fly away. True 
friendship is specially found in adversity ; then, indeed, one's 
very misery requires and implores a faithful friend. il Pros- 
perity draws a friend, adversity drives him away," says Seneca. 
Demetrius Phalerius says : " True friends are called to be 
present on joyful occasions, but are not willingly called in 
adversity." The Samaritan teaches this who is willingly 
present with the unfortunate man in time of necessity, when 



232 TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

lie goes down from Jerusalem, the state of prosperity, to 
Jericho, the change of fortune and adversity. In Jerusalem 
and peace you will find many friends, but when you go down 
to Jericho, none. 

IV. Some believe those to be friends whom they always 
have as guests and followers of gain. But these, by no 
means, are friends because they do not love you but yours, and 
moreover rather themselves, and when they see their emolu- 
ments dwindling, they cease to love. " And there is a friend, 
a companion at the table, and will not abide in the day of 
distress " (Eccli. 6 : 10). The mice in our houses live on our 
food, yet they do not trust us like those friends whom Al- 
phonsus, King of Sicily, on a voyage compared to certain 
birds flying around the ship as long as he threw food to them. 
" Some of my courtiers," said he, " are very much like these, 
for, when they receive a gift or benefice for which they have 
been fighting among themselves, they run away." Abraham 
was not such a friend to the King of Sodom, who, although he 
greatly assisted him in overcoming his enemies, refused any 
compeusation and would not accept a share of the booty 
offered him. " I lift up my hand to the Lord God the Most 
High the possessor of heaven and earth, that from the very 
woof thread unto the shoe latchet, I will not take of any- 
things which are thine, lest thou say, I have enriched 
Abram" (Gen. 14 : 22,23). Nor did the Samaritan act 
thus, for although he did not act like certain doctors who 
attend those only from whom they expect a fee, and neglect 
the poor ; but gratuitously, since he could hope for nothing 
from the wounded man already robbed, he spent his own money 
for his cure. Many accompany a friend in taverns as long as 
he loosens his purse-strings ; but when he ceases to spend 
money, they desert him, and not without anger and male- 
dictions. 

V. They reckon relatives and those joined to them by 
some necessity among their friends. But they very often 
err. For if these truly are friends, why does the Lord say : 
" And a man's enemies are those of his own household " 
(Matt. 10 : 36). Then why does he order to hate them, say- 
ing : " If any man come to me, and hate not his father and 
mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters and 
his own life also, he cannot be my disciple " (Luke, 14 : 26). 
Those related by blood he wishes us to hate, not outsiders 
and unknown ones, because those for the most part seek and 



MANIFOLD FALSE FRIENDSHIP. 233 

procure for us temporal gains, but obstruct our salvation, 
because the way of salvation is contrary to the flesh. St. 
Bernard says of such a friend : " If he tries to persuade me 
that something bad is just, he is on the right, but as Judas, 
he betrays us with a kiss." Such was Peter once when he 
wished to dissuade Christ, willing to suffer, saying : " Lord, 
be it far from thee, this shall not be unto thee." But what 
did he hear from the Lord ? " Go behind me, Satan, thou 
art a scandal unto me : because thou savorest not the 
things that are of God, but the things that are of men " 
(Matt. 16 : 23). Holy men learned this from Christ,who did 
not allow themselves by flatteries to be impeded on the road 
to salvation by friends and relatives. His brothers tried in 
many ways to prevent St. Bernard from entering religion ; 
his mother and brothers tried the same with St. Thomas 
Aquinas. His relatives urged St. Gordian, martyr, to deny 
Christ with the lips at least, but to believe in him in his 
heart, in order to save his life. But these great heroes did 
not listen to the hissing of the serpent and the enticements 
of relatives. We behold this in that wounded man ; for 
although he was a Jew, the priest and Levite passed him by, 
but the Samaritan, a traveler and a stranger, showed him 
mercy, that you may understand that relatives are not always 
friends, that they often desert man and care not for the 
salvation of his soul. 

VI. Some have for friends the companions and pa- 
trons of their crimes. But these are indeed deadly enemies, 
because they lead the miserable ones to death. Hence the 
Wise man says : (( An unjust man allureth his friend : and 
leadeth him into the way that is not good" (Prov. 16 : 29). 
Thus the false prophets allured King Achab into an unjust 
war, promising him victory ; but the king perished. How 
many such are there ! How many frequent saloons with 
companions which they would not do alone ! How many 
like to benefit friends and foolishly take on themselves strifes 
and enmities ! How many parents provide for their sons and 
enrich them by evil gains ! Do not these dead bury their 
dead? Do they not lead them along the wrong road? Josa- 
phat had contracted such a bad friendship with Achab, too 
tenderly saying : ' ' As I am so art thou." Deceived by 
Achab, and ordered to put on the royal armor, he bore the 
brunt of the battle and narrowly escaped being killed with 
his seducer, Achab. Not so our Samaritan, who did not lead 



£34 TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

the wounded man into a lonely place, nor into the woods, 
to desert him and to leave him there to be devoured by wild 
beasts, but into an inn, to be cured. Many also lead each 
other into saloons, not to be cured, but to be filled with 
liquor. The Samaritan raised the poor man and placed him 
on his own beast, and forced him to ride who was unable to 
walk. Those friends effect that healthful people shall fall 
into sickness or afflictions of the body, that horsemen, who 
formerly had plenty, shall walk on foot, while their money 
having been spent on drink, they begin to want with the 
prodigal son. 

VII. Some consider those friends by whom they them- 
selves by turns are loved. But these are not always to be 
reckoned true friends, for when you shall have ceased to love 
them, or by one word offend them, you will often find 
them enemies. {i And there is a friend that turneth to en- 
mity " (Eccl. 6 : 10) ; that is, for a slight offense. Like 
some dogs that caress you while you pet them, but that show 
their teeth and bite if you vex them. Proud friends, when 
touched by a light word, often become the bitterest enemies. 
It seems that it was said of these in Psalm 143 : 5 : " Touch 
the mountans and they shall smoke." The devil thought he 
would see the same thing in Job when he said to God : 
" Touch his mouth and flesh, and then you will see that he 
will bless you before your face." But true friends, such as 
Job was, are not so perverted ; they always love who truly 
love, even made enemies. Our Samaritan teaches this ; for 
although the Jews were most hostile to the Samaritans, per- 
secuted them, and despised them, nevertheless the Samaritan 
did not despise the wounded Jew, but treated him most 
friendly. David is also an example, who, although he daily 
noticed the sinister look of Saul towards him, and even his 
open hatred, did not cease to love him, but, on the contrary, 
prevented Abisai from putting him to death ; his death 
finally he deplored with bitter tears, and he revenged it by 
killing the slayer (2 Kings 1). Therefore, friends are 
many, but true friends are few, because, as the Wise man 
says : " I also am his friend : but that is only a friend in 
name" (Eccl. 37 : 1). The Pharisee does not ask who is 
his friend in name, nor does Christ so answer; but he is a 
friend in truth and deed who performs the offices of a neigh- 
bor and true friend ; and they believe that such a one is a 
friend, and he only. 



THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

CONFESSION. 



The purification of leprous persons was ordered for five reasons. 
I. On account of an offended God : 1, because thus we show the 
worship due to God ; 2, we thus confess the justice of God and 
our own injustice ; 3, by it we acknowledge the power of God 
and our own weakness. II. On account of Christ : 1, that we 
may testify to his innocence ; 2, that we may magnify his 
glory ; 3, that we may prove our love for him ; 4, that we may 
prepare to receive him in the Holy Eucharist. III. On account 
of the one confessing : 1, that man might have a judge like him- 
self ; 2, that he might have a sensible sign of his reconciliation ; 
3, that he might have a faithful friend to whom he could open 
all his secrets. IV. On account of sin : 1, that the disease of 
the soul might be cured by an antidote ; 2, that confession might 
subdue the passion of sinning ; 3, that the punishment of sin 
might be mitigated. V. On account of our neighbor : 1, lest 
he might be scandalized ; 2, that he might be edified ; 3, that 
no one should be esteemed above another. 

" Go, show yourselves to the priests " (Luke 17 : 14). 

There are many, especially heretics, and some Catholics 
even, to whom it is distasteful to be sent to the priests for the 
remission of their sins ; it seems enough and more to confess 
to God and be absolved by him, especially since we hold that 
man is justified by an act of contrition even before confession 
of sins. " Why then," they say, " is confession necessary ? " 
This objection is clearly destroyed in to-day's gospel, in which 
Christ sends the ten lepers to the priests : " G-o, show your- 
selves to the priests." Why did the Lord do this ? Could 
not he alone cleanse them ? It is added that " while on they 
went, they were cleansed." If he wished to cleanse them on 
the way, why did he send them to the priests ? The Lord 
wished by this to describe the precept of confession, that 
although before it the sins of a man are often remitted, if 
before it he shall have made an act of contrition, neverthe- 

335 



236 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

less, that we may know we are still obliged to show ourselves 
to the priest by confession. But why did Chris fc wish this ? 
Why did God wish the lepers to show themselves to the 
priests ? The law of God ordered it, you say. I say, likewise, 
Christ ordered this. Wherefore, it should suffice for a 
Christian to know that this is a precept of Christ, and not to 
curiously investigate why this is a precept, and, moreover, with 
those ten lepers and in simplicity of mind to go and show him- 
self. Lest there should be any room for argument I shall pres- 
ently show how worthily and aptly the confession of sins was 
instituted and ordered for us by Christ. That solemn purifi- 
cation of the lepers in the old law, it seems to me, was ordered 
for five reasons. First, on account of God, that they should 
give glory to him and worship due for their cure ; therefore, 
the leper is ordered to offer sacrifice ; secondly, on account of 
Christ, through whose blood all men, lepers in soul, were re- 
deemed ; therefore, they should offer two sparrows, kill one 
and release the other, the former signified humanity dead on 
the cross — the latter, the immortal divinity of Christ ; thirdly, 
on account of himself, that being cleansed he could securely 
and freely mingle with men without contumely or oppro- 
brium ; fourthly, on account of the leprosy itself which, since 
it is a contagious disease, must be isolated and cleansed 
and purified by contact with the priest ; fifthly, on account 
of our neighbor, so that he should not doubt about its cure. 
I. It was instituted most fittingly on account of an offended 
God. First, because by it we show the worship due to God 
not otherwise than by sacrifices and oblations. The sacrifices 
of the old law were not pleasing to God unless they were des- 
tined for the honor of God and accompanied by internal acts 
of virtue. If we draw away from these, you will hear Isaias 
immediately saying : " To what purpose do you offer me the 
multitude of your victims, saith the lord ? I am full/' etc. 
(1 : 11). They were acceptable to him only inasmuch as they 
were some protestation of divine worship made by the humble. 
But sacramental confession is the most express protestation 
of divine worship, while man subjects and humiliates himself 
in it to God for his honor and not for his own, nay, even at- 
tributing to himself ignominy and confusion according to 
Daniel : " To thee, Lord, justice : but to us confusion of 
face" (9 : 7). For this reason David says : " With burnt of- 
ferings thou wilt not be delighted, a contrite and humble 
heart thou wilt not despise " (Ps. 50 : 18) ; that is, that will 



CONFESSION. 237 

be an agreeable sacrifice to yon which in body and spirit will 
testify to your majesty : that which confession does more ex- 
pressly than the sacrifices of the old law, for these of them- 
selves were indifferent, but that in conceived words looks to 
the worship of God. " We will render the calves of our lips " 
(Osee 14 : 3). The calf of the lip is confession of sins, by 
which we give glory to G-od ; but to ourselves as sinners, we 
give confusion. Secondly, because by it, we declare the jus- 
tice of God, but our own injustice. Many have been so mad 
as to have ascribed their sins to God himself as the cause : 
all the Gentiles, now also many heretics, especially the Cal- 
vinists. Our first parents labored under this vice, while Adam 
laid the blame on the woman whom he had received from 
God, and therefore, indirectly on God ; Eve placed it on the 
serpent. Hence, St. Gregory says that the branch of this 
error in the human race has grown from that root to the 
present time. Therefore, that we may controvert that 
horrible blasphemy, which makes God the author of sin, 
Confession has been most fittingly and most wisely instituted, 
in which man asserts that he himself is the author of sin, 
vindicates God from all blame, attributes justice to him and 
iniquity to himself. For, who confesses a crime of which he 
is not the author ? While, therefore, the sinner confesses, 
by the very fact he acknowledges that he is the Author of 
his crimes, and thus vindicates God. Thirdly, because by 
it we declare the power of God and our own weakness. It 
is customary in war for the conquered to give up their arms. 
Since, therefore, the sinner takes up arms against God and 
shows himself rebellious to his laws as often as he transgresses 
them ; it is but just then that he who took glory from God 
should make a retraction and declare himself conquered and 
unequal to the strength of God, by laying down his arms, his 
sins by objection. Hence, it is that God humiliates and op- 
presses refractory and insolent men until, by confessing their 
sin, they cede the victory to God. Thus he afflicted Pharao, 
who said : " I do not know the Lord," until he said : " I have 
sinned this time also, the Lord is just : I and my people are 
wicked" (Exod. 9 : 27). Thus he oppressed Nabnchodonosor, 
who said : u Is not this the great Babylon which I have built to 
be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of my power and 
in the glory of my excellence ? " (Dan. 4 : 27). He cast him 
forth from among men to eat grass as an ox until he should 
bless the Most High, and praise and glorify him that liveth 



238 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

forever, for his power is an everlasting power. Thus he 
afflicted Antiochus with a most painful malady until he said : 
" 1 know, therefore, that for this cause these evils have found 
me " (1 Mach. 6 : 13). In this manner glory is given to God ; 
so that to confess the truth and to accuse oneself is nothing 
else than to give glory to God, for as St. Augustine says : 
" When we acknowledge our sins, we commend the glory of 
God." Joshua, about to force Achan to confess, said : " Give 
glory to the Lord God of Israel, and confess and tell me what 
thou hast done and hide it not " (Jos. 7 : 19). 

II. On account of Christ the Lord, that with our mouth 
we should declare his innocence. The Jews, and Gentiles, 
say that Christ was crucified on account of his sins ; hence to 
the former he was a stumbling block ; to the latter, foolish- 
ness. They crucified him between two thieves, " that he 
should be reputed among the wicked," as Isaias says. But we 
Christians, that we may openly proclaim his innocence, con- 
fess our crimes, and call ourselves guilty, to vindicate Christ. 
When we confess our sins we do nothing else than assert 
ourselves guilty, and Christ innocent ; and this we justly do 
so as not to place our burden on other shoulders. So David, 
seeing his people punished for his sin, cried out to God : " It 
is I, I am he that have sinned, I have done wickedly : these 
that are the sheep, what have they done ? " (2 Kings 24 : 17). 
Do you think the same as often as you confess and say : It is 
I who have sinned : Christ who was a sheep, what has he 
done ? Thus you will vindicate Christ from the accusation 
of sin, while you proclaim yourself the guilty one, and that 
Christ suffered innocently for you. Secondly, that we may 
magnify the glory of Christ, while we show him so many and 
grave wounds of the soul to be healed. Great is the glory of 
a physician who cures a hopless case. How much greater 
appears the glory of Christ when we see so many sinners 
daily afflicted with such enormous crimes and falling so often 
having recourse to him through confession, and departing, 
healed with wonderful quickness. St. Augustine says : ' i Is 
it not to the praise of God when you confess your sins ? 
Certainly, it tends greatly to his praise, because the more 
desperate the case of the sick person, the greater the praise 
of the doctor." Thirdly, that we may prove our love for him. 
He who truly loves his friend, easily tells him all his secrets ; 
if he did not, he would not truly love him. Dalila, wishing 
to try Samson's love for her, asked nothing more from him 



CONFESSION. 239 

than that he should tell her his secret. " How dost thou say 
thou lovest me, when thy mind is not with me ? Thou hast 
told me lies three times, and wouldst not tell me wherein thy 
great strength lieth " (Judges 16 : 15). There was nothing 
that Christ our spouse did not make known to us ; he mani- 
fested his glory in his transfiguration, his weakness in his 
passion, the name of God in his preaching, so that no one 
could doubt of his love. It remains for us to prove our love 
for him. And in what way shall we better prove it than if 
we reveal to him the most hidden secrets of our heart, which 
we do not dare to reveal to any one else ? This is done by 
confession, for what is said to the confessor is said to Christ. 
Fourthly, that we should prepare a clean dwelling for Christ 
the Lord coming in the Eucharist. When John the Baptist 
was preaching penance, he often inculcated : " Prepare the 
way of the Lord." But which is the way of the Lord in 
receiving the Eucharist ? Is it not the mouth and heart of 
man ? And how can we cleanse them more profitably than 
if we eject the filth of sin from the heart through the mouth ? 
David, who could not receive his Lord, swept his spirit : 
what would he have done if he had this guest ? Let us there- 
fore use the broom of confession that we may prepare the way 
and dwelling worthy of God. 

III. On account of the penitent, it was aptly instituted ; 
first, that man would have a judge for all things, like him- 
self, and according to his will. The Israelites appealed from 
God the judge to man the judge, Moses saying to him: " Speak 
thou to us and we will hear : let not the Lord speak to us 
lest we die " (Exod. 20 : 19). If we were to have only God 
for a judge, we would be miserable in many ways, because his 
judgments are incomprehensible and his ways are inscrutable. 
St. Paul says : " For who hath knoAvn the mind of the Lord ? 
Or who hath been his counsellor?" (Rom. 11:34). Where- 
fore, God, in a manner, ceded his right and gave us a judge 
like ourselves ; not only in flesh and blood but also in weak- 
ness. " For we have a high priest who can have compassion 
on our infirmities, one tempted in all things like as we are, 
but without sin" (Heb. 4: 15). This seems to be the reason 
why Christ did not give the keys of Penance to John the 
Baptist but to Peter ; because as John was without sin, and 
Peter at one time was a sinner to the latter and not to the 
former, he gave the keys, that a sinner might more easily pity 
ft sinner, and grant him pardon ; a sinner has no difficulty 



240 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

in confessing to a sinner. Secondly, that man should have 
some sensible sign by which he might understand, as far as 
God is concerned, that his sins are forgiven. David sought 
such a sign of his forgiven sin saying : " To my hearing thou 
shalt give joy and gladness ; and the bones that have been 
humbled shall rejoice" (Ps. 50:10). And he obtained it 
when, having made confession, he heard from the prophet 
Nathan as though he were his confessor : " The Lord hath 
taken away thy sin" (2 Kings 12 : 13). If the sacrament of 
Penance were not instituted, we would have no sign of the 
remission of sins. If we ourselves place no obstacle, although 
not infallibly, prudently, however, we can conjecture, abso- 
lution is a most efficacious and a most certain sign of the 
remission of sins. After King Ezechias had heard from 
Isaias that he was healed by the Lord, who condemned him 
to death, he sought some sign in testimony of the prophecy 
such as that the shadow should return back ten degrees and 
it did (4 Kings 20 : 10). This reversing of the shadow sig- 
nifies nothing else than the confession of sins. Sin is a 
shadow because, as this is a privation of light, so that is a 
privation due rectitude, by which man transgresses the ten 
lines of precepts. What sign then do you wish of the remis- 
sion of your sins ? If the shadow of crimes lying hid in your 
heart is reversed through the ten precepts which have been 
transgressed, if it is cast out by confession, there is no doubt 
but that you will have a sure sign of your cure when you 
hear the words : " I absolve thee." Thirdly, that man might 
have some faithful friend to whom he could open the hidden 
secrets of his heart. There is no friend to whom a secret 
can be securely committed : he can at any time be forced in 
case of public necessity to reveal it. But there is no power 
under heaven which could force the confessor to reveal his 
secret even though the destruction of the whole world de- 
pended on it. For this reason this secret is called the seal of 
confession. It is not of wax but of iron ; and what is 
stronger than iron ? And it happens, without doubt by the 
singular providence of God, that although a priest may be 
a wicked man, he cannot be urged by any one to violate the 
seal of confession. Christ seemed to have insinuated this, 
when with breathing, he gave the apostles the power of the 
keys. For as a breath cannot be seen, nor measured, nor 
seized, nor is it known whence it comes or whither it goes ; so 
sins deposited in confession, he wished to be intangible, and 



CONFESSION. 241 

at the same time it seems that a special gift was joined to the 
power of the keys, by which the secret of confession should 
be holily preserved. Therefore, although priests in other 
things may be men, weak, frail, liable to fall ; in this, how- 
ever, they are as Gods, firm and inflexible according to the 
saying : "I have said : you are Gods." 

IV. On account of the crimes ; first, that the disease of 
the soul might be cured by an antidote. It is common for 
men to hide their sins, because an offense of the Creator is 
opposed to nature. But as God brought into the light Adam 
hiding after the crime was committed, that he might ac- 
knowledge that he had sinned ; so it has been justly ordained 
that he who is not ashamed to sin should be ashamed in con- 
fessing it and acknowledging that he has sinned. This is 
what Jeremias says : " Thou hadst a harlot's forehead, and 
thou wouldst not blush. Therefore, at the least from this 
time call to me : thou art my father" (3 : 3, 4). A dissolute 
girl is not as much ashamed of the sight of any one as of 
her father, whom she knows she has most grievously of- 
fended ; it is just, therefore, that her impudence be cured by 
shame, and that she should appear before him from whom she 
fled. He does not as yet entirely hate sin who loves its cave. 
Secondly, that confession might curb the passion of sinning. 
Because to declare one's sins is greatly opposed to human 
nature. A bridle restraining man from sin could not be 
more aptly put on him than if this yoke were placed on him. 
God said to Sennacherib, the king of Syria : " Thou hast 
been mad against me, and thy pride hath come up to my 
ears : therefore, I will put a ring in thy nose, and a bit be- 
tween thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by 
which thou earnest" (4 Kings 19: 28). A bull with a 
ring in his nose and a horse with a bit in his mouth are 
easily managed. The same thing is done with a sinner, who 
can easily escape an earthly magistrate. Thirdly, that the 
punishment of crime might be mitigated. He who has de- 
stroyed what belongs to another is bound by a twofold debt 
of satisfaction : to the magistrate, that he suffer punishment 
for his theft ; to his neighbor, that he make restitution. 
Likewise, he who sins, contracts a fault and a punishment : 
the former by contrition he is bound to atone ; the latter by 
satisfaction. If one wished to forgive a thief a stolen thing 
while the thief humbly acknowledged his error, certainly he 
would act most kindly with the thief. This happens gener- 
16 



242 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

ally in confession, for God has prescribed for the sinner the 
means of confession, by its nature a punishment, so that by 
it at least some part of the debt of satisfaction may be for- 
given him. He would be a very good doctor who,m place of 
money, would order the taking of medicines which he pre- 
scribed. This God does in confession, who indeed has pre- 
scribed a more bitter remedy, but that through it you might 
allay part of the punishment. "Shame itself," says St. 
Augustine, (l is part of the remission." 

V. On account of our neighbor ; first, that he may not be 
scandalized when he sees those whom he knew to be sinners 
approaching the holy table. If confession not to man but 
to God would suffice, it could be easily believed that those 
accustomed to sin would communicate unworthily. But 
when one is seen to go to confession, suspicion fades and 
scandals cease. The Pharisee was indignant when he saw 
the sinful woman approach ; and he would have cause if she 
had sat at the banquet ; but it was because she came to weep 
and show her wounds that she approached the feet of her 
Doctor and heard from Christ : " Thy sins are forgiven 
thee." Secondly, that our neighbor may be edified and ani- 
mated to penance. How can one withdraw from confessing 
when he sees earthly rulers kneel at the feet of the priest ? 
How can one despise confession when he sees men renowned 
for sanctity kneeling penitent ? How can one fear when he 
sees the most desperate cases treated so easily and with such 
a sweet remedy ? Thirdly, that no one should be esteemed 
above another when he sees this one and the same measure 
suited to all. Alphonsus, King of Aragon, said that ashes 
made all men, high and low, equal ; but this was the meas- 
ure of the dead ; confession is the measure of the living, 
whom it makes equal. St. Paul says : " For all have sinned 
and all need the glory of God ; " that is, the grace and mercy 
of God, which they seek through penance. All have sinned 
and all need absolution. What, therefore, proud earth and 
ashes, who art bound by the same law, you must undergo 
the same judgment and expect the same pardon. "What if 
the memory of ashes lowers your plume ; consider that you 
need God's grace, and with the common lot of all bend your 
knee to the priest, strike your breast, and say : " Through 
my fault," 



FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

TOO MUCH SOLICITUDE FOR PASSIKG THINGS SHOULD BE LAID 

ASIDE. 



I. Because no one can serve two masters. II. Because he who gave 
more will give less. III. Because he feeds the birds and clothes 
the lilies. IV. Because too much solicitude is useless. V. Be- 
cause that solicitude belongs to the Gentiles. VI. Because God 
is our father. VII. Because, by agreement, he has promised us 
sustenance. 

" I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your 
body, what you shall put on " (Matt. 6 : 25). 

"With very good reason St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop of 
Kavenna, exclaims on to-day's gospel : " 0, how much does 
eternal piety disturb itself with love of man ! He who could 
confirm his precepts by his authority alone recommends them 
with all the labor of a doctor ; so that he who was able to 
place the limit of his promise in faith alone leads his hearers 
to faith in the thing promised, after the example of an ad- 
viser." The word of a prince should be of as much value for 
keeping a promise as the oath of his subjects. And, if the 
word of a prince is sufficient, is not the Word of God more so ? 
Christ could have used one word to promise us support, and. 
we should be content, because the Word of God is more than 
an oath. Nevertheless, however, he wished to convince us 
by many sweetest arguments to have faith in his Word and 
to place in him the solicitude for our necessities. Since, 
therefore, the Lord has deigned to advise what he could 
command, let us listen with all attention to the most gentle 
of orators. 

I. Because no one can serve two masters : God and Mam- 
mon ; for whoever is bound by too much solicitude for 

243 



244 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

earthly things, cannot be mindful of God and heavenly 
things ; either he loves God and will despise earthly things ; 
or he loves these and will despise God. St. Cyprian says : 
" As the same eyes cannot behold heaven and earth at the 
same time , so the love of the world and of God cannot dwell 
in the heart together." The reason is : there are three 
things in riches, when they rule man, which disagree in a 
great measure with the service of God. First, they wish to 
be preserved, increased and magnified ; but God has ordered 
us to administer them faithfully, to share with the needy 
and to despise them. Secondly, they draw to themselves the 
hearts of their lovers. " Where thy treasure is there also is 
thy heart/' says the Lord ; but he orders the same thing : 
"If riches abound, do not set the heart on them." And 
again : " Son, give me thy heart." Finally, they bring fear, 
diffidence and solicitude with them. But God wishes these 
to be far from us saying : " Be not solicitous," etc. 

II. Because he who gave what is greater will give what is 
less. God gave us a body and soul. But " is not the soul 
more than food and the body more than raiment ? " says the 
Lord ; he will give the latter, therefore, because they are far 
less. There is a common saying : " He who gives a horse, 
gives also a bridle." Why, therefore, may we not expect the 
same from God, especially since he has given a body and soul 
to those in no way cooperating with him ? If, therefore, he has 
given us a body and soul without our cooperation, much more 
will he give food and raiment to us cooperating. We know 
the force of this argument in Adam and Eve, for whom, be- 
fore their creation, he prepared this world as a most magnifi- 
cent dwelling. We know it in infants, whom he nourishes in 
the mother's womb, and whom, when born, he furnishes with 
mother's milk. Why these ? Because he who gave a body 
and soul gives also food and raiment. But it is not enough 
to have given us a body and soul, he gave us also his only be- 
gotten Son ; he gave us him and gives him daily in the 
Eucharist. 

III. " Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor 
do they reap, nor gather into barns : and your heavenly 
Father feedeth them." And again, "Consider the lilies of 
the field, how they grow : they labor not nor do they spin." 
If God feeds the brute animals and those that do not lay up 
stores for themselves, and that are not fed by men, such as 
birds that fly most freely through the air, especially ravens, 



TOO MUCH SOLICITUDE SHOULD BE LAID ASIDE. 245 

the most gluttonous of birds, that are deserted in the nest by 
their parents ; again, if the lilies of the field grow without 
the aid of man ; and if he so clothes them that they surpass 
the splendor of Solomon ; how much more will he do for 
man, whose father he asserts himself to be ? For he does not 
say : ' ' God feeds those ; " but " your heavenly Father feedeth 
them." Truly, each species of animals uses different foods, 
and of these there is provided for each although some cannot 
seek their food. Some are deserted by their parents, as the 
raven's young, who are therefore said to " invoke God " (Ps. 
148), and in the meantime they are nourished by the falling 
dew. The providence of God appears wonderful towards the 
kingfisher, a maritime bird a little larger than a sparrow ; as 
Pliny writes, which places its nest in the sand on the shore 
and about the middle of winter hatches its young. Is it not 
wonderful that the nest with its young is not swallowed up 
by the ocean? But on account of this bird, otherwise called 
halcyon, the winds are silent, and the turbulent elements are 
appeased ; and those days of hatching and nourishing are 
called by the sailors halcyon. They know these days and 
that they are safe for navigation. Why, therefore, do you 
not rely on God even beyond the hope of all, even when over- 
come by the greatest calamities ; you whom he wishes to be 
like his own image, since in mid-winter he calms the vast and 
angry sea for the sake of those little ones ? Another argu- 
ment for the same providence is written of the whale, which 
when it becomes too fat cannot hear any more, the moun- 
tains of flesh stopping up that sense. Therefore, nature has 
assigned him a leader, a fish of white color with a very long 
head and short tail, that never parts company with the whale 
but always swims before him like a leader or guiding star ; 
it provides everything for him and warns him with its tail 
when to recede and when to advance ; by a sign it warns 
him of the snares of fishermen in time to avoid them. Who 
will not admire the providence of God, who has given to the 
largest animal of the sea one of the smallest as leader and 
guide ? How much more, therefore, will God provide for 
the necessaries of man and especially a guardian angel to 
direct and govern him ! If he so provides for brutes that 
do not know him as their benefactor and creator, and 
that cannot praise him ; will he not have greater care for 
men who know and adore him and who give him thanks ? 
If, on entering a royal banquet hall, you should see tables 



246 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

prepared and loaded down with a variety of food for servants 
and cooks and stablemen ; would you not think that surely 
the friends and children of the king were to feast there ? 
Since, therefore, in the hall of this world we see tables filled 
with the necessaries for all creatures, why should we despair ? 

IV. Because too much solicitude is useless, as is indicated 
by the words : " And which of you by taking thought can 
add to his stature 07ie cubic ? " Why, then, are you solicit- 
ous about food and clothing, since in this world you can 
effect nothing unless God aids you, who causes you to 
grow without your knowing it ? We gather from this that 
the prohibited solicitude deals mostly with thoughts only. 
What profit is it for you to always think how your ship will 
land its freight ; how the crops will be preserved ; how your 
debts will be paid ; how your house will remain in your ab- 
sence ? Who does not know how fruitless were the thoughts 
of that rich man who said : " I will destroy my barns," etc. ? 
For that very night he heard the voice of God : " Fool, this 
night they shall require thy soul of thee ; " and what you 
have prepared, whose shall they be ? Such anxiety is not 
only useless, but also harmful to both body and soul ; it de- 
stroys health, shortens life, disturbs sleep, and continually 
tortures the mind. But it afflicts the soul with greater evils 
than these ; for it so obscures the intellect that it has less 
discernment for spiritual things, namely, the providence of 
God and the truth of his promises ; the same way that a 
cloud obscures the light of the sun. It afflicts the will with 
sloth towards the same divine things ; it weakens faith, hope 
and charity towards God ; it chokes the seed of the husband- 
man, or the Word of God ; it distracts in prayer ; it loses 
time and sometimes leads to despair ; like that mule that in- 
volved Absalom, so the devil involves us by the hairs of 
cares, and afterwards we are easily pierced with the triple 
lance, concupiscence of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride 
of life. The Egyptians knew this well, and therefore im- 
posed on the Hebrews the burden and solicitude of collect- 
ing chaff, that they might be withdrawn from their sac- 
rifices and delayed in their journey to the promised land 
(Exod. 5). 

V. " For after all these things do the heathen seek ;" as 
though the Lord said : You Christians are friends of God, 
to you more is due than to infidels, who neither worship nor 
know him nor believe in his providence, and, therefore, it is 



TOO MUCH SOLICITUDE SHOULD BE LAID ASIDE. 24? 

not wonderful if they are solicitous about their support ; 
but you believe that God governs all things most wisely and 
most justly and you serve him faithfully. It is becoming, 
therefore, that on this account you should by far have 
greater confidence in God than heathens, and for this rea- 
son God in many ways has strengthened the hope and confi- 
dence of the faithful in himself. He wished them to wor- 
ship him on the Sabbath ; he wished that manna should be 
'collected on one day only; and if more than enough should 
be collected, it should be scattered to the worms (Exod. 16). 
He ordered that the seventh year should be one of rest, that 
is, in each seventh year they should not sow anything nor 
prune the vines (Levit. 24). For God promised that he 
would give them manna daily, and that the earth would, 
each seventh year, produce spontaneously. Finally, he 
wished us to ask in prayer, not for our annual but daily 
bread. If we believe in the providence of God, we should 
firmly trust in it, especially because we are Christians, and 
we know that the eye of the Lord is always watching over 
the just especially. If God provides necessaries for the 
heathen, and often wonderfully, will he not provide for 
Christians ? If he feeds those ravens, the Turks ; if he 
clothes that grass which to-morrow is thrown into the oven ; 
that is, unbelievers, Jews and public sinners, why will he not 
provide necessaries for Christians, who serve him ? In 
Egypt, where rain is scarce, the Nile yearly overflows its 
banks and waters the fields sufficiently for the maturing of 
crops. In Cappadocia, Media and Thrace, where there are 
no bees, honey is distilled from trees. In the extreme 
North, where there is no wood, the bones of fish serve for 
kindling. "On Mount Cassius," says St. Basil, "every year 
at a certain time innumerable locusts are born, which de- 
stroy the crops. Wherefore, God provides a certain kind of 
bird, most voracious, that devours them and frees the fields 
from the pest." From all this it is evident how mindful 
God is of men, even of wicked and infidels, and therefore 
Christians have every reason to be filled with hope. 

VI. "For your Father knoweth that you have need of all 
these things." If he is our Father, how can he forget his 
children ? " Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to 
have pity on the son of her womb ? " (Isa. 49 : 15) ; " and if 
she should forget, yet will I not forget thee." "Ask some 
boy," says Cardinal Bellarmine, "what will you do when 



248 FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST* . 

yonr clothes will have been worn out ? You are small, yon 
have no money, you will have to go naked. You cannot 
frighten him. He will quickly answer : i My father will 
provide them ; he will not allow me to suffer.'" Why, there- 
fore, do we not have as much confidence in God as children 
have in their parents ? Some one may answer that he is so- 
licitous for food and raiment and other necessaries because 
he is in need of them. St. Chrysostom says : " You should 
be more confident and less solicitous ; because, if they are 
superfluous, it is no reason why you should expect to be pro- 
vided by God." 

VII. Because God has promised us necessary sustenance 
on condition that we seek first the kingdom of God when he 
said : " Seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and 
all these things shall be added unto you." He seems to say 
to us what he said to St. Catherine of Sienna : " Think of 
me and I will think of thee." Thus the father speaks to his 
son : " You go to school and study diligently, and whatever 
you need I will provide." So God acts with us. Bellarmine 
says : " If a Jew promised you a valuable gift, and you had 
his handwriting for the same, you would sleep content ; and 
yet you have only the written promise of an infidel. But we 
have not one but many agreements of God in which he prom- 
ises us all that is necessary for our support, and yet we are 
solicitous, as though we believed God to be powerless or deceiv- 
ing." In to-day's gospel how many agreements ? Let, there- 
fore, there be an end to all care and anxiety, because he who 
gave life will also give the necessaries of life ; because he 
who feeds the birds and clothes the flowers will do the same 
for you ; because such solicitude is useless and harmful ; be- 
cause it is for heathens, and not for Christians, to seek such 
things ; because your Father knows that you need all these ; 
because he has promised you the kingdom of heaven and 
has bound himself by an agreement : " Seek first the king- 
dom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be 
added unto you." 



FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 

THE CEMETERY, THE SCHOOL OF VIRTUE. 



1. It teaches who and how much you are. II. It shows that young 

and old equally die. III. It shows that all will be alike in the 
grave. IV. It makes peace and harmony among the conten- 
tious. V. It shows what flesh is, which is so much loved. VI. 
It shows the seed-time of our resurrection. 

" Behold a dead man was carried out " (Luke 7 : 12). 

On" last Sunday we went out and saw the lilies of the field, 
beautiful and sweet smelling : to-day we are called out again 
into afield, much unlike, however, to the former, less odor- 
iferous and less beautiful. For behold, a young man is 
brought out from Nairn, and whither ? to the cemetery, which 
is also called " God's acre." This is the field, unless I am 
mistaken, into which Isaac went forth, when he was awaiting 
his spouse, to meditate on holy and heavenly things ; such 
certainly is meditation on death. And this is the best school 
for young people to be sent to, that in the school of death 
they may learn to live well. Surely to such God sent Jere- 
mias and us with him when he said : " Go forth, into the 
valley of the son of Ennom (the Septuagint says cemetery). 
And thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that 
shall go with thee : and thou shalt say to them : thus saith 
the Lord of hosts : even so will I break this people, and this 
city as the potter's vessel is broken, which cannot be made 
whole again, and they shall be buried in Topheth " ( Jer. 19 : 

2, 10, 11). Like little bottles we shall be broken in death, 
and shall be buried, in God's acre. With Jeremiah, there- 
fore, let us go forth to that school and let us learn to live 
well so that we may die well. 

I. In this school, we see and learn who and how much you 

249 



250 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

are ; earth, namely, into which you shall be resolved, and 
as little as six or seven feet. We hear that God often said to 
Adam: "You are earth, and to earth you shall return." 
Very many blind mortals seem not to believe this since they 
are so proud, and exalt themselves above other men, until 
they come to that school where they are plainly convinced 
that they are only earth, because they shall be resolved into 
it. The Babylonians with their king labored in great blind- 
ness when they adored the idol of Bel, which, Strabo writes, 
was a golden statue forty feet long, and in weight one thou- 
sand Babylonian talents, to which was dedicated a golden 
bowl of twelve hundred talents. " The king said to Daniel : 
Doth not Bel seem to thee to be a living god ? Seest thou 
not how much he eateth and drinketh every day ? Then 
Daniel smiled and said : king, be not deceived, for this is 
but clay within, and brass without" (Dan. 14 : 5, 6). After- 
wards, with authority from the king, he destroyed Bel and 
proved what he had said that Bel was clay, adding : " Be- 
hold him whom you worshiped." How many labor in the 
same blindness, who attending to external splendor only think 
they themselves are golden, as though they were gods ; hav- 
ing no clay, nothing in common with men ; when in reality 
they are all clay except the garments they wear ! If you do 
not believe this come to the cemetery and show me anything 
left of them except dust and clay. The impious Antiochus 
labored in such blindness when he threatened to turn all 
Jerusalem into a cemetery. On his way he commanded his 
chariot to be driven without stopping ; it happened, as he was 
going with great speed, that he was thrown from his chariot 
and sustained several injuries. Thus he that seemed to him- 
self to command even the waves of the sea, being proud 
above the condition of man, and. to weigh the height of the 
mountains in a balance, now being cast down to the ground, 
was carried in a litter, bearing witness to the manifest power 
of God himself (2 Mach. 9 : 4-8). Worms ate him alive and 
he died a horrible death. Philip the emperor saw this when, 
having fallen from his horse in the hippodrome, he rose and 
turning to the place said : " See how a little sand upsets us 
who foolishly affect to rule the world." 

II. See here that not only old men die, but even young 
men, boys and infants. See the graves, small and large — 
nearly as many small as large ones. Eead the epitaphs- — how 
many will you find there who scarcely began life or reached 



THE CEMETERY, THE SCHOOL OF VIRTUE. 251 

the middle when taken away. When Daniel, having spread 
ashes on the floor of the temple, had caught not the idol Bel, 
but the priests and their wives, and children, who had 
entered during the night, and had eaten the food placed be- 
fore Bel, he showed the king their footprints in the ashes. 
How many young men who live riotously consider themselves 
as immortal gods ? But see the cemetery strewn with ashes ; 
you certainly will find there the footprints and graves of 
young and old, in almost equal number ; among them is the 
young man in to-day's gospel. Certainly not without grave 
reason did Samuel give to Saul, among other signs, this one 
of the royal dignity to be conferred on him : that, on his way, 
he would find two men by the tomb of Eachel, and they 
were to assure him that the asses had been found (1 Kings 10). 
He wished to admonish the future king, of human frailty 
from the tomb of Rachel, his great mother, for Saul was 
of the tribe of Benjamin, whose mother was Rachel, who 
had died on that very way in spring-time, that young men 
and Saul with them should fear lest they themselves should 
suffer a like fate on the road to royal or other dignity even in 
the spring-time of youth. By another simile, Isaias proposes 
the same in these words : ' ' As if a few olives that remain 
should be shaken out of the olive tree, or grapes when the 
vintage is ended" (24 : 13). Olives are picked when they are 
as yet bitter and unripe ; on the contrary, grapes are not 
picked from the vine until they are ripe. So blind death 
takes away not only those ripe in age — the old ; but also the 
unripe — the young. 

III. See and learn that here there is no distinction between 
noble and ignoble ; rich and poor ; learned and ignorant ; that, 
therefore, no one should despise another, nor exalt himself 
above another ; since the cemetery shows us that all are 
equal ; that it encloses them equally in a narrow bed ; that 
they equally putrefy and are equally devoured by worms. 
St. Ambrose says : " A narrow bed is sufficient for rich and 
poor alike, and the earth which was not for one rich man 
living hides all dead." Alphonsus, King of Aragon, being 
asked what made princes and paupers alike, answered : Ashes. 
When St. Francis Borgia, Duke of G-andia, saw the ravages of 
death in the once beautiful countenance of Isabella of Spain, 
and what a narrow kingdom would receive and enclose her 
royal majesty, he bade farewell to the world and resolved to 
serve God ? saying : " Narrow death has brought me life/' 



252 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

St. Angustine says : ' ' When we, my mother and I, were wait- 
ing for favorable weather to return to Africa, the Prefect 
Pontianus, who had come from Rome to see us, urged us to 
go back with him, to inspect more closely the magnificent 
buildings and works of the Pagans. And being led with 
others to see the corpse of Oassar in the tomb, I saw that it 
was of a livid color putrefying and being devoured by worms. 
And turning to my mother, I said : ' Where is the renowned 
body of Caesar, where the greatness of his riches, his abun- 
dance of delights, his multitude of slaves, his mighty armies, 
his hunting dogs, swift horses, his singing birds, his royal 
couch, his imperial throne, his royal purple, his comely face, 
everything under heaven ? Men trembled before you, princes 
feared you, cities worshiped you, all feared yon. Where 
are all these ? whither fled all your boasting, all your magni- 
ficence ? ' And my mother answered : ' Son, all these have 
perished ; when his spirit departed, they left him bound in 
the tomb to putrefy/" He continues : " Faithful of Christ, 
consider what we are ! Go, young and powerful ones, to 
the tombs of your fathers ; consider what they were and 
what they are. Let us open their vaults and see who is master 
and who is servant ; who is beautiful and who ugly ; who is 
erect and who bowed down among them. Let us open the 
eyes of body and mind and consider that our great misery 
frequently is no trouble. Let us enter the tombs and what 
will we find there ? Bones and ashes and worms. And this 
will be the end of us all/' 

IV. See and learn how much peace and concord reign among 
the buried ones ; even those who, while alive, were sworn 
enemies ; who could not live in the same house, much less eat 
at the same table. There in the cemetery in the same grave, 
peace reigns among all. Who could have effected this while 
they were living ? Death effects it now. Seneca says : 
" Why are you angry with your servant, your master, your 
king ? Wait a little. Behold death comes, which makes us 
all equal." Swarms of bees, when together, fight among them- 
selves ; but a little dust thrown on them separates them. 
Those who in life persist in not being reconciled, at length 
in the grave when a little dust is thrown on them, become 
friends. David says: "They are laid in hell (the Hebrew 
has it grave) like sheep : death shall feed upon them " (Ps. 
48 : 15). Or as St. Augustine says : "Death is their shep- 
herd," The dead, therefore, like sheep lie in the cemetery 



THE CEMETERY, THE SCHOOL OF VIRTUE. 253 

with their shepherd death, who were unwilling to congregate 
in the sheepfold of the Church, with Christ the Shepherd ; 
and it is to be feared that they are now lying in hell. 

V. See and learn what that flesh is which here miserable 
mortals love so much even to insanity. See those corpses 
naked and stripped to the bone by worms. Is this that Jez- 
abel who a little while before so beautiful adorned and painted 
herself ? Nothing left of all this beauty but those bones ? 
Where is the brow, the eyes, the cheeks, the power and royal 
majesty ? Think of this and see, can you love those bones. 
St. Gregory says : " There is nothing more apt to subdue the 
desire of carnal appetites than for each one to think how that 
will be dead which he loves living. A fire is more easily put 
out by throwing earth on it than by water. In Melesia there 
is a plant which when burning cannot be extinguished except 
by throwing earth on it. Therefore, let him who feels the 
burning of passion go to the cemetery, throw a little earth 
on himself, at least in thought, and he will extinguish the 
fire. 

YI. Finally, in this field see our seed-time and the hope of 
our harvest not so much buried as deposited. This is that 
field of the blood of Christ for the burial of pilgrims ; the 
field of the heavenly potter who formed us from clay, and by 
death breaks and scatters it, and on the day of resurrection 
will reconstruct it ; and he will reform the body of our hu- 
mility fashioned after the body of his brightness, as he showed 
Jeremias in the figure of the potter's house. In this field 
the body is sown in corruption ; it shall rise in incorruption. 
It is sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory. It is sown in 
weakness, it shall rise in power. It is sown a natural body, 
it shall rise a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15 : 42, 44). Therefore, 
as the field sown with seed is the hope of farmers, so is the 
cemetery the hope of Christians. Hope, I said, not the 
affair ; because as the farmer fears while he hopes, lest his 
crops fail ; so justly we fear the harvest of our resurrection, 
lest it blast our hopes, for it is written : " The hope of the 
wicked is dust which is blown away with wind. " Many seeds 
in the field are devoured by birds. On the day of judgment 
many bodies in the cemetery will be despoiled by the ravens 
of hell ; and many of the dead in that field will be struck by 
the lightning of the Judge. What, therefore, is to be done so 
that our hope in this field may not be crushed ? Certainly we 
should be like those whom Christ wished to be buried in the 



254: FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

field of his blood, bought for the bnrial of pilgrims. Let ns 
be such pilgrims in this world as St. Peter wishes when he 
says : u I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims to refrain 
yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul " 
(1 Pet. 2:11). If we live in this world as pilgrims in a 
strange land, then our harvest will be great and we shall 
have no reason to fear that terrible day. 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

WHAT MUST BE DONE OK SUNDAY. 



I. We must abstain from sin and rise from it. II. We must put 
aside all secular business and cares. III. We must more liber- 
ally give alms. IV. We must hear the word of God. V. We 
must hear Holy Mass. 

" Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day ? " (Luke 14 : 3). 

Christ was accustomed often to heal maladies on the Sab- 
bath and was not questioned by any one, for example : the 
man with dropsy (Lake 14) ; the man whose right hand was 
withered (Luke 6) ; the blind man (John 9) ; the sick man 
at the pool (John 7) ; the woman bowed together (Luke 13). 
For this very reason, the Jews persecuted him and sought to 
put him to death as a transgressor of the law, since miracles 
were works of piety and belonging to God rather than to 
man. Wherefore Christ wished to make the Sabbath more 
honorable by the curing of disease. But why ? To show 
us that our souls should be healed on the Sabbath. For the 
healing of souls he resorted to the healing of bodies. " And 
what he did corporally, he wished to be understood also 
spiritually," says St. Augustine. He wished to show that 
Sunday was the proper day for healing the soul rather than 
the body. In the gospel we find five people healed by Christ 
on the Sabbath, who certainly indicate the five cures to be 
used on Sunday. 

I. He cured the man with dropsy. Who is he but the 
sinner? Job 15 says : " How much more is man abominable 
and unprofitable who drinketh iniquity like water ?" that is, 
he freely commits sin as though there were no punishment 
for it, like water is drunk without payment. This drinking 
habit must be corrected on Sunday at least — the habit of 
sinning must cease, for it is written in (Deut. 5) : " Observe 
the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it" that is, observe it by 

255 



256 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

good works, do not defile it by sin. The wicked Jews them- 
selves did not dare to seize Christ on the Sabbath. Sunday 
is called the Lord's day because it is given to his service. 
Wherefore, if any one has fallen into sin, let him strive to rise 
on that sacred day by penance, and if not by confession, at 
least by contrition. This is what Christ intimates in the 
parable of the ass having fallen into the pit, by which he un- 
derstands literally the man with dropsy, mystically, the sin- 
ner. For what is the imprudent sinner but an ass fallen into 
the pit of hell ? The Lord's day is the day of resurrection 
on which Christ did not wish to remain in the tomb but to 
rise early in the morning. Whence we devote that day to 
prayer in memory of him as did the Christians of old. Be- 
sides, Sunday was instituted as a day of rest for servants as 
well as beasts of burden. But how does the ass rest in a pit ; 
how does your soul rest in a state of mortal sin ? Eise from 
it, therefore, that you may find rest on the day of rest. If 
St. Jerome said : ' f When I shall have been angry and pon- 
dered in my mind some evil, and some nightly imagination 
shall have deceived me ; I do not dare to enter the church of 
the Martyrs, I tremble so in body and soul ; " how will you 
dare in a state of mortal sin to enter into the house of God ? 
II. The woman bowed together, who was entirely unable 
to look up, stood erect on the Sabbath. Who is such a one ? 
St. Gregory answers : " The sinner who follows his lower 
appetites is bent from the uprightness of his mind ; " that is, 
a man bent with secular cares and business, seeking the 
things of earth, and solicitous about food and clothing, 
wife and children. This one should stand erect on our Sab- 
bath and contemplate rather heaven and divine things than 
earth and secular things. We have the same command 
typically when God forbade the Jews to collect manna on the 
Sabbath, which should be done with the body bowed down ; 
nor did he permit them to go out but ordered each one to 
remain by himself. That the first Christians acted thus is 
evident from the writings of the Fathers. St. Gregory the 
Great in one of his letters says: " On the Lord's day we 
must cease from labors and by all means spend the time in 
prayer, so that any negligence done during the six days may 
be expiated by prayer on the day of the resurrection of Our 
Lord." St. Chrysostom says : " Let us make this a fixed 
law, not only for ourselves, but for our wives and children, 
that we shall spend this one day of the whole week by listen- 



WHAT MUST BE DONE ON SUNDAY. 257 

ing in meditation to the things which have been said." St. 
Jerome, with his companions, was accustomed on Sunday to 
visit the churches of the Martyrs in Rome. Finally, if there 
be anything most necessary for raising the soul to God and 
healing it, it is the examination of the life led during the 
past week and of the state of the soul, whether any part of it 
has been wounded, what it has gained and what it has lost 
during the past days. When the servants of the followers of 
Calvin saw that, according to his spirit, feast days were abol- 
ished on which they were wont to mend their garments, they 
asked their masters for a free day in the week, namely, Wed- 
nesday, on which to do their mending. If they were so 
anxious to repair their garments, why do you not, on Sunday 
at least, repair the injuries and vices of your soul, for the 
other six days your attention was given to the body and none 
whatever to the soul ? 

III. He healed the man whose right hand was withered, 
saying : " Stretch forth thy hand." Who is such a one? Hear 
St. Ohrysostom : ic The hand not giving alms is withered." 
Let the hand be extended especially on the Lord's day. Such 
was the custom in the time of the apostles (St. Paul, 1 Cor. 
16). " On the first day of the week, let every one of you 
put apart with himself, laying up what it shall well please 
him, that when I come the collections be not then to be 
made." He included every one ; there was no exception. 
After over three hundred years this custom which had fallen 
into disuse was again revived in a powerful sermon by St. 
Ohrysostom. "Wisely," said he, "did the apostle order 
collections on Sunday, because on that day we received very 
many benefits from God. On that day, by the resurrection 
of Christ, we have been resuscitated and made immortal ; on 
that day we receive the Holy Ghost," etc. A type of this 
were the loaves of propitiation which every Sabbath were 
placed on a clean table before the Holy of holies, by which is 
indicated that we should by alms enter the house of God, for 
through it we enter heaven. St. Jerome says that the man 
whose hand was withered was a stone-mason and was much 
in need of that hand to earn a living. Wherefore, the rich 
are more in need of extending a charitable hand to the poor 
that they may obtain grace for themselves and build a taber- 
nacle in heaven. 

IV. He cured the blind man by placing clay on his eyes 
and sending him to the pool of Siloe. Who is this blind 

*7 



258 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

one ? St. Augustine says : " The human race is this blind 
man." This blindness came to the first man through sin. 
Every man born in ignorance of all things is that blind man. 
He should have the sight restored on Sunday through the 
frequent hearing of the Word of God, which he calls clay, 
made from spittle and earth ; spittle is the Word of God ; 
clay is the preacher. The custom of preaching on the Lord's 
day dates from the time of the Apostles. " And on the first 
day of the week, when we were assembled to break bread, 
Paul discoursed with them " (Acts 20:7). " But the next 
Sabbath day, the whole city almost came together to hear 
the Words of God " (Acts 13 :44). St. Clement commands 
the same thing saying : " How can he be excused before the 
Lord, who does not hear the salutary Word of God on Sun- 
day ? " St. Augustine tells how he was wont to hear St. 
Ambrose preaching every Sunday. The church did not 
make it of precept to hear sermons on Sunday for all did not 
need them. Nevertheless, the custom of the church of hav- 
ing sermons always in very many places seems to have a cer- 
tain force of law. Certainly Christ teaches that he does not 
wish to know those who do not hear the Word of God. 

V. He healed the sick man at the pool, whom he ordered 
to rise, take up his bed and walk. Wlio is such a one unless 
the man who is too weak to do good works. That pool fitly 
represents the Holy Mass into which the angel of Christ de- 
scends, moving the water, that is, recalling his passion to 
our minds, and in a certain way renewing it. It has blushing 
waters from the passion of Christ as the pool had from the 
blood of immolated sheep. Here the weak are strengthened 
and healed ; for the Mass gives man strength and blessing to 
perform other actions, especially if during it he communi- 
cates spiritually by meditation on the mystery. If formerly 
the sight of the brazen serpent could cure the Hebrews from 
snake-bites, why cannot also the sacrifice of the Mass, con- 
taining Christ crucified, heal our maladies ? The early 
Christians were accustomed to communicate every Sunday. 
Afterwards it was ordered that they should at least be pres- 
ent and communicate spiritually through faith and desire 
and humility ; that they should place themselves, like little 
dogs, under the table and judge themselves unworthy the 
bread of children, as the Canaan and the Centurion, who 
considered his house unworthy for Christ to enter therein. 
So Magdalene in the house of the Pharisee did not sit at the 



WHAT MUST BE DONE ON SUNDAY. 259 

banquet, but placed herself at the feet of the Lord. The 
utility and necessity of this mystery were so evident that the 
Church in the Council of Agatho, in 506, prescribed that all 
the faithful should hear Mass on Sundays and holidays. 
Many ask : Which would we prefer — to hear a sermon or to 
assist at Mass. Stanislaus Hosius answers : " Which is pref- 
erable — to hear the will of God or to do it ? " In a sermon 
we behold the road to heaven ; in Mass we receive strength 
to walk in it. It is necessary, therefore, to do one and not 
to neglect the other. Therefore, when we know that those 
things were done by Christ on the Sabbath, it remains for us 
to embrace them as our guides. 

This much we have seen, that Christ the Lord wished us 
to spend the Sabbath in the healing of the soul in the above 
five ways. INTor is this wonderful, for the more prudent 
heathens, following the law of nature, have set aside certain 
days for curing the ills of the soul. " I have fixed my mind 
to this as not less pious, to spend some feast-days first free from 
anger, as dry and abstemious as though I were making days 
of sobriety and sacrifices of honey," says Plutarch. Could 
not he and others like him accuse some Christians on the 
day of judgment ? Therefore, whatever the world and the 
devil may suggest, let us not be hindered from doing those 
good works ; as Christ himself did not cease to heal the sick 
on the Sabbath, although he knew it was displeasing to the 
foolish and wicked Jews. Moreover, on account of their 
hatred, let us study to be intent on those pious actions, as 
Christ opposed himself to the Jews and confounded their 
blindness by honoring the Sabbath with the present mir- 
acles. Behold yourself afflicted with various ills — cure them 
on the Sabbath. " Have mercy on your soul, pleasing 
God " (Eccl. 30). Do not worry because you displease the 
world and the devil as long as you please God. Therefore, 
if during the week you have a withered hand, extend it on 
Sunday ; if you have been bent to earth, straighten up to 
heaven ; if you have been dropsical and immersed in the pit 
of vice, struggle to get out of it on Sunday ; if you have 
been blind and weak, run to the pool of Siloe to receive your 
sight and health. Christ saw the man with dropsy in a most 
pitiable and miserable condition and healed him. Do you 
behold yourself no less miserable and have pity on your soul. 
Thus we shall hope to pass from the Sunday of time to the 
Sunday of eternity. 



SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

THE LOVE OF CHEIST. 



I. He is most lovable : 1, in form ; 2, in speech ; 3, in virtue. II. 
He has the greatest love for us : 1, because he was made man 
for us ; 2, he is our Physician and Master ; he is our food in the 
Eucharist, and there turns to us. III. As man he is like us. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God " (Matt. 22 : 37). 

It is a common saying that love descends, not ascends. 
Experience proves this in parents from whom a strong love 
descends to their children ; but it does not ascend with like 
ardor from children to parents. Parents treasure their chil- 
dren, but not children their parents. We must confess that 
the same thing happens with Christ the Lord, our common 
Parent, whose love descends to us, but does not ascend from 
us to him. Christ burns too much with love for us, and we, 
alas ! are too cold in returning it. What base ingratitude ! 
What is the remedy for this ? The Lord says : " Consider 
the ravens, for they sow not, neither do they reap, neither 
have they storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them " (Luke 
12 : 24). Pliny writes that he saw a raven piling up stones 
in the form of a bucket, in which the rain remained, so that 
he might stand on this pile of stones to drink the water 
which he could not otherwise touch with his bill. Let 
us imitate this industry, and, that our love may ascend 
to our Kedeemer, cast into our heart some stones on which 
we may stand to return his love, siuce, as St. Anthony says, 
nothing should be placed before the love of Christ. We 
say elsewhere that there are three things which excite love 
in us : the lovable object itself, some likeness between the 
lover and the beloved, and reciprocal love. As all these are 
in God, they are in Christ also, and they urge us to love him, 
and they are clearly meant in these words : (i Thou shalt 

200 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 26i 

love the Lord thy God." He is God — behold the object of 
our love ; He is our Lord — behold the likeness ; He is the 
Lord — behold reciprocal love. 

I. Christ is to be loved because he is most lovable, not 
only as God ; as such he must be loved above all things as 
the highest good, the highest wisdom, power and majesty ; 
but also as man, for as such he is in a way God corporate, 
because in his humanity, as in a mirror, his divinity is re- 
flected, and the fulness of all graces is contained. His form 
and comeliness make him lovable, according to the proverb : 
" What is beautiful is lovable." That Christ excelled in 
elegance of form and in dignity of countenance is the common 
opinion of theologians, and is indicated in Ps. 44 : " Thou art 
beautiful above the sons of men." St. Jerome thinks this, 
among others, the reason why the apostles so quickly fol- 
lowed him. St. Chrysostom thinks this was the cause of the 
contention among the crowd who held him, lest he depart. 
Mark 5 : "They were attached to him," he says, "some 
loving him, admiring and wishing to remain always with 
him. For as he was wonderful in working miracles, so he 
was most beautiful to behold." If in his mortal state he 
was so beautiful as to draw beholders to himself, what must 
he have been in his resurrection, and what will he be now in 
glory, where the beauty of his countenance gladdens the 
eyes of the saints ? 

Grace of speech or eloquence renders one lovable, and that 
this was the highest in Christ is gathered from Ps. 44, where 
it is said : "Grace is poured abroad in the lips." And St. 
Luke testifies, saying : "And they wondered at the words of 
grace that proceeded from his mouth" (4 : 22). The minis- 
ters sent to seize Christ were seized by him, by the virtue of 
his speech, for they said to the high priests : " Never did 
any man speak like this man " (John 7 : 46). Peter and 
his disciples so hung on his words that they could not leave 
him. " Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life" (John 6:69). St. Bernard says: "They 
clung to him, delighted by his speech and countenance, 
whose voice is sweet and whose countenance is comely." 
Finally, virtues make one lovable, those especially which 
come into the conversation of men, such as affability, hu- 
mility, innocence, kindness, mercy, etc. But what was 
more affable than Christ, who most lovingly received little 
ones coming to him, embracing them, placing his hands on 



262 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

them and blessing them ? who did not hesitate to touch the 
lepers ; who was wont to most sweetly console the afflicted 
and raise their spirits by a word, as when he said to the par- 
alytic : " Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven 
thee ; " and to the widow mourning her son : " Weep not ; " 
who deigned to call his disciples sons and brothers ; who did 
not refuse to go to the sick — " I will come and heal him." 
What more innocent than he who knew not sin ? not only 
did no injury to any one, but chided his disciples wishing to 
do so. His gentleness was incredible according to Isaias : 
' ' The bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax 
he shall not quench " (42: 3). For when the Pharisees, jealous 
of his miracles, planned to destroy him, he calmed their fury 
and continued to heal many of those who followed him. 
Was not the woman taken in adultery a bruised reed, accused 
by the Jews, who sought her death ? and whose crime he 
did not hold up to the gaze of the people, but so hid it that, 
bending down, he wrote with his finger on the ground ; but 
what did he write ? Surely the accusation of the Pharisees, 
which could be easily destroyed, as though by this writing 
he wished to say : " It is well ; I shall inscribe your accusa- 
tion on tablets, but on such where it will be easily erased." 
See his kindness in absolving the woman. " Woman, where 
are they that accused thee ? Hath no man condemned 
thee?" Who said: " No man, Lord." And Jesus said: 
" Neither will I condemn thee. Go, sin no more " (John 
8 : 10, 11). Some say that he wrote on the ground, so 
that by doing something else he pretended not to hear what 
her accusers were saying. But when the accusers were gone 
he stood up. 

St. Ambrose admiringly says : " See the gentleness of 
Christ ; when the woman is accused, he bows his head, 
and raises it only when her accuser is gone ; so that he 
wishes no one to be condemned, but all to be forgiven." 
Finally, he did not revenge himself on his enemies, so that 
after his resurrection he did not even mention any injury he 
had received. There was nothing more liberal ; he opened 
to all his bosom of mercy, to give them what they wished. 
"What will you that I shall do for you ?" he said to a cer- 
tain one. He sent no one away who sought anything. 
Such is our Beloved, that for the rest I am silent." And 
who will not love this man ? Who, with the crowd, will 
not seize him and make him king ? 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 263 

II. Because he has most deeply loved ns and showered so 
many blessings on us, that by these as chains he might draw 
men to mutually love him as he foretold by Osee : " And I 
will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bonds of 
love, and I will be to them as one that taketh off the yoke 
from their jaws, and I put his meat to him that he might 
eat " (11 : 4). By these words seem to be indicated the first 
benefits conferred on us by Christ. With what love for us 
he is made Adam, that is man, our flesh and brother, an in- 
fant naked, suffering those things which we suffer : hunger, 
thirst, cold, heat, etc. How great are these ! The Creator 
to descend from his home in heaven to his creatures on earth, 
the greatest to the smallest ; from God to become man ; from 
everything to nothing as it were, for the love of man only. 
Secondly, by which he wished to become our doctor and 
leader by word and example, nay more, the doctor of our 
maladies ; and these benefits we justly call the chains of 
charity. Who will not be drawn to the love of his master, 
leader and doctor, especially if he understands that he is the 
most noble, most wise, most humane, who has taught not any 
art whatever, but the most noble of all, the way to heaven ; 
who has shown the most stupendous examples, who has 
cured incurable diseases of body and mind, who has coma 
from the remotest land for the sake of the weak. That 
charity conquers all these by which he gave his own life for 
miserable dying man to give him life. These words seem 
pertinent here : " I will be to them as one that taketh off 
the yoke on their jaws." This is nothing else than what the 
Apostle says : "The charity of Christ presseth us" (2 Cor. 
5 : 14). We are accustomed to urge horses to run more 
quickly by pulling the bridle on their jaws and by whipping 
them till they obey us. Christ did the same thing to draw 
ferocious men to his love, when he himself for us wished to 
be beaten with stripes, to raise the yoke of the cross on his 
own shoulders, and, finally, to be lifted up on it. When we 
hear that the Son of God was scourged for us, burdened with 
the yoke of the cross to testify his love for us, do not those 
stripes strike our heart and admonish us to love in return 
such a lover ? to carry the yoke of sweet love placed on our 
necks ? _ Hear St. Bernard : "Above all things, good Jesus, 
the chalice which you drank renders you lovable to me, the 
work of our own redemption. This indeed proves his love 
for us, more kindly provokes our devotion, more justly de- 



-264: SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

mands it, and more vehemently binds it." I ask you : What 
do you owe him, how much should you love him, who so 
comforted you in your most bitter griefs, in your various 
maladies ; be of good heart, I will take your sorrows, I will 
bear your maladies in my body ; but you take my health and 
live. Should you not worship such a Saviour all your life, 
and love him always most fervently ? St. Catherine of 
Sienna did something like this when she, by divine conces- 
sion, transferred to herself the pains of her father in purga- 
tory, so that she really suffered them in this life. But how 
much greater is that which Christ has done ? For he has so 
freed us from the everlasting torments of the soul as well as 
of the body, that what we should have borne, he himself 
will bear for us. " Surely he hath borne our infirmities and 
carried our sorrows " (Isaias 53 : 4). How is it possible, then, 
that we can forget him who gave his life for us, and turn to 
other creatures ? Xenophon writes that Tigranes, King of 
Armenia, with his wife, was put in chains by King Cyrus, and 
being asked by him what price he was willing to pay for his 
wife's freedom, replied : " I will freely give my life for 
her." This so pleased Cyrus that he freed them both. On 
their journey, Tigranes asked his wife what she thought of 
the kindness of Cyrus, and she answered : " I did not regard 
Cyrus, but him who would save me with his life." Hear 
that, Christian ; you are the spouse of Christ who did not 
say to you in word that with his life and blood, he would 
free you from the chains of hell, but in reality did so. Why 
do you not, therefore, turn your eyes to him alone who gave 
his life for you ? How can you look on the world, the flesh 
and the devil, and turn away from your Saviour ? How can 
you admit any other lover but him ? Thirdly, by which he 
left himself as food in the Blessed Eucharist, which height 
of divine love, Osee touches when he says : " And he put 
meat to him that he might eat." He speaks literally of the 
manna with which God fed the Hebrews in the desert ; alle- 
gorically he signifies the Eucharist with which God feeds us in 
this church and this he does daily. First, while at the voice 
of the priest, he descends from heaven as often as he is called 
to the altar, and when we wish he even enters under our 
roofs. Because he sees that we cannot come into his pres- 
ence, while we are in this world, he himself comes to us. 
The affection of the lover is much more greatly inflamed 
when it is said : Behold, here or there is your beloved, than 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 265 

if it were said only : He is not far from you. With the finger 
we can point out our Beloved in the Eucharist. Secondly, 
while he hides and encloses his glory and splendor, under 
such a common covering, as the species of bread and wine, 
for our good and reward. How could he annihilate himself 
more and show his love ? Thirdly, while he comes down to 
us with no other object than to be our food, to dwell among 
us and to be intimately united ,to us. What more beautiful 
and efficacious love-charm could love and our lover find ? 
And who will not grow warm by the strength of that charm ? 
Truly that food is a pledge of the eternal banquet which he 
has prepared for his followers ; there he will reveal the 
sweetness which here lies hidden. Christ, therefore, is to be 
loved, because he is Our Lord, who bought us, who feeds us, 
and who rewards us in heaven. 

III. Because he was made man like to us, not of necessity 
but by his will and the impulse of love. Hence, David called 
him by his proper name : "his Lord." " The Lord said to 
my Lord," as Christ convinces the Jews in to-day's gospel. 
In other parts of Scripture he is properly called " our God " 
as in Deut. 6 : 64 : "Hear, Israel, the Lord our God is 
one Lord." And in Ps. 6Q : 6 : " May God our God bless 
us, may God bless us." Behold the mystery of the Blessed 
Trinity, and the second person " our God " properly called, 
as also the Church acknowledges, which commonly calls him 
by the name " Our Lord," as in the Creed : " And in Jesus 
Christ his only Son our Lord." He is ours because he is our 
Father, for so he is called by Isaias 9:6: " The Father of 
the Word to come " ; because by his death he has brought us 
forth to grace, which is the life of the soul ; because he has 
instructed us bv his evangelical doctrine to a newness and 

%j o 

holiness of life ; because he has merited for us a right to 
eternal life. Do not think that this is a title of honor only, 
for the same Holy Spirit that dwelt in Christ is sent to us by 
God, by whose aid we as sons can safely have recourse to 
God and cry out : " Abba, Father." Secondly, because he is 
our brother by our human nature assumed by him. Hence, 
he is called by the Apostle : "the firstborn among many 
brethren" (Rom. 8). And he himself calls his disciples: 
" his brethren " (John. 20). Thirdly, because he is our Spouse, 
for by faith and Baptism he has espoused us and has given 
us the ring of his grace. The love of brothers is great, of 
children and parents, greater, of husband and wife, greatest, 



266 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Although for no other reason should the charity of Christ 
urge us to love him, it should at least for this, that since by 
his nature he was God, he wished by mere kindness and 
benevolence to be our brother, that he might communicate 
to us his paternal patrimony and share it with us. Some 
brothers are wont to be envious of one another on account 
of a common heritage, though they are of the same condition, 
as Esau of Jacob, Cain of Abel. On the contrary, the Son 
of God, that he might share his paternal goods with us alike, 
though we had no claim to them, introduced himself into our 
brotherhood. But if this as yet seems little, we are still 
beholden to him as Father who did not recreate us as easily 
as he created us ; not by one word alone, but by many and 
immense sorrows, and by his very death bought us life, who, 
that he might infuse into us the breath of life, gave up his 
own spirit. And if this is not enough, know that Christ is 
your Spouse who loves you and your flesh, and wishes to be 
loved by you in like manner. Nor has he bought you with 
a mean price, but with his blood, so that you can truly say 
what Sephora said to Moses : " A bloody spouse art thou to 
me" (Exod. 4 : 25). Because you are bought by his blood, 
you should shed your blood rather than offend him. Nor 
does it matter that he has other spouses beside you. Eor 
while the sun shines for all, it shines no less for you, than if 
it shone for you alone ; so also Christ, although he loves 
others besides you, he does not therefore love you less, be- 
cause he is infinite and inexhaustible. St. Cyprian says : 
" man, you are sufficient for God, let God be sufficient 
for you." St. Paul says : il If any one does not love our Lord 
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema" (Cor. 1 : 16). On the 
other hand : " Grace be with all them that love our Lord 
Jesus Christ" (Ephes. 6 : 24). 



EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

PARALYTICS IK SOUL. 



I. All mortals after the fall of our first parents. II. All sinners. 
III. Avaricious and misers. IV. Lazy and negligent. V. The 
souls in purgatory. 

44 And behold, they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed " (Matt. 9 : 2). 

A wonderful offering, my brethren, a stupendous gift 
which in to-day's gospel the Capharnaites offer to Christ their 
guest. A man paralyzed, deprived of the use of hands and 
feet and all his members, lying in a bed. What do you do, 
citizens ? Did not God in the Old Law order you not to 
offer him a weak sacrifice, full of defects ? Did he not say 
through Malachias : " If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is 
it not evil ? and if you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil ? 
offer it to thy prince, if he will be pleased with it, or if he 
will regard thy face, saith the Lord of hosts (1 : 8). Wonder- 
ful, therefore, is this offering, but pleasing to Christ the 
Lord, whose food is the conversion of sinners. This is his 
hunting ; this wild beast is flesh which our heavenly Isaac 
freely eats, and of which the Lord said once to his disciples : 
" I have a food to eat which you know not of ; " the soul, 
namely, of the Samaritan woman, like the soul of the weak 
paralytic, whose salvation he then sought. The Capharnaites 
saw the Lord take from their midst and in a manner devour 
all the ills of the sick ; therefore, to-day on his coming into 
their town, they bring him a paralytic as a most agreeable 
morsel. Rightly, therefore, should the infirm be brought to 
the Lord while he remains in our city, while as yet in this 
world, he is waiting for sinners to do penance ; for in the 
next world he will not receive them. There he will say what 
he has already said by Malachias : " I have no pleasure in 
you, saith the Lord of hosts : and I will not receive a gift at 

267 



268 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

your hand." Therefore, let us bring our weak and infirm to 
Christ ; let ns offer him our paralyses, while he remains with 
ns. Let ns see who are paralytics in soul. 

I. Paralytics are all mortals after the fall of onr first par- 
ents. For when our first parents lost original justice, which 
as a golden bridle restrained all the passions of the soul, held 
them within bounds, and subjected them to reason as the 
flesh to the spirit, then when that bridle was taken off, they 
with their posterity fell into a certain languor, a paralysis, a 
dissolution of all the members, senses and passions, which like 
an animal let loose began to indulge in evil desires ; they be- 
came wild, and only by the greatest labor can they be restrained. 
" For I do not that good which I will, but the evil which I 
hate, that I do " (Rom. 7 : 15) ; that is to say : I desire to 
move my members and passions to the right according to the 
law of reason, and they turn to the left according to the 
law of concupiscence, carnal and beastly. As the members 
of a paralytic scarcely ever do anything right, so also the 
powers of a paralytic soul are easily prone to evil, but with 
great difficulty to do good. We have a figure of this in Agar 
the handmaid, and Sara the wife of Abraham. Agar quickly 
and easily brought forth a son, Ismael, but he was a bad and 
wild man ; Sara with difficulty gave birth to Isaac who was 
good and obedient. We are Agar in bad deeds, and Sara in 
good ones. But what is the remedy for this paralysis ? 
Through the grace of Christ we can be restored to our orig- 
inal state. Therefore we should be brought to Christ and 
his Church, by Baptism ; then we should rise from our sins 
by the Sacrament of Penance ; after this, take up our bed, 
not yielding to our former conversation and evil desires, but 
conquering them ; finally by going into our house and pro- 
gressing in virtue, and striving to reach that perfection 
which we had in paradise, whence we were expelled, and 
which we can obtain by the frequent and worthy use of the 
Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist. 

II. All sinners, especially inveterate ones. Paralysis is a 
relaxing of the nerves, so that man cannot use the members 
touched by it, nor can he walk nor labor. Sin effects this in 
the soul of man, so that he cannot move one step towards 
heaven, nor accomplish anything worthy of heaven. As the 
Egyptians in their utter darkness were unable to move from 
place to place, and feared to do so lest they should meet with 
destruction ; so men placed in the darkness of sin can do 



PARALYTICS IN SOUL. 269 

nothing of themselves, only lie in their vileness ; without the 
light of divine grace, they cannot rise nor perform one meri- 
torious act. The nerve of merit — grace — is relaxed in them 
and cut. The Egyptians in their darkness, as though bound 
by chains, could do nothing but cry out, and in a piteous 
voice call for help ; so sinners bound by the chains of their 
crimes, can only implore the help of God, since they can 
merit nothing. If the Egyptians started a fire, it was either 
extinguished by the wind or overcome by the thickest dark- 
ness. Solomon says : " And no power of fire could give 
them light, neither could the bright flame of stars enlighten 
them that horrible night " (Wisdom 17 : 5). In like manner, 
the good works which one in a state of sin wishes to perform, 
are either impeded by the devil, or at least are obscured and 
deprived of the favor of God, overcome by sins more than by 
that darkness which obscured everything. More than others, 
inveterate sinners are considered paralytic because they are 
by no means bound by the nerves and chains of the fear of 
God. Of such Jeremias says : " How long wilt thou be dis- 
solute in deliciousness, wandering daughter ?" (31 : 22), 
that is, how long will you spend your life dissolute and prone 
to every crime ? how long will you wander outside yourself 
and your God ? And these seem to lie not in an ordinary 
but in an iron and immovable bed like the one Og, King of 
Basan, had, thirteen feet long and six feet wide. What is 
that iron bed, but the obstinate habit of sinning, by which 
St. Augustine bewails he was at one time bound. "I 
panted/' he says, ei bound not by a strange iron but by my 
iron will. The enemy held my will and then made a chain 
for me and bound me. From a perverse will sensuality was 
created, then habit, then necessity. And painful slavery by 
these held me captive." That bed of the sinner, especially 
the libertine, noted in that iron one of Og, is beautifully 
described by Alphonsus Tostatus, Bishop of Abul : (C Og in 
Hebrew is the same as accumulating, and signifies the sinner 
who piles up sins upon sins, until he comes to the bottomless 
pit of evil ; for sin, for which he seeks no remedy through 
Penance, soon gathers to itself worse companions, until he 
becomes a dwelling for every unclean spirit, especially luxury 
in which like Og in the bed he sleeps undisturbed.'' How- 
ever, he must not despair, even in this paralysis. What must 
he do ? The Lord indicates three things : " Rise, take up 
thy bed, and go into thy house." First, rise to God by prayer 



270 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

and a constant imploring of his grace. St. Augustine becom- 
ing anxious about his conversion, one day stretched under a 
tree, and with tears prayed : " And you, Lord, how long ? 
Will you be angry to the last ? Do not remember my former 
iniquities." Meanwhile he heard a voice saying : " Take and 
read, take and read." He took up a book and read the 
words of St. Paul : "not in riotings and drunkenness, not in 
chamberings and impurities," etc. Soon after he was con- 
verted. Secondly, take up your bed, by exercising the vir- 
tues opposed to your vices ; temperance to intemperance, 
almsgiving to stealing, modesty to immodesty, so that you 
may overcome habit by habit. Thirdly, go into your house, 
by a strong, constant and frequently repeated resolution of 
the mind that you wish to depart from your evil ways and go 
into the house from which you fled. 

III. Avaricious and misers. Although these are not par- 
alytics in other members, in the hands, at least, they are 
deprived of power ; a type of whom was that man with the 
withered hand who was healed by Christ. The hand of the 
avaricious is withered, because it has not the moisture of 
charity and mercy. St. Chrysostom says : (< The hand not 
giving alms is withered. That which steals is wicked and 
vile. Let no one eat with such hands." Does it not seem 
to you that the glutton who refused Lazarus the crumbs 
from his table had withered hands ? And since he himself 
would not extend his hand to feed Lazarus, so neither did 
Abraham wish to extend his hand to quench his thirst in the 
fires of hell ; and because he would not give to Lazarus 
begging, he must at length beg from Lazarus. " Send Laz- 
arus," etc. St. Jerome says that that man whose hand the 
Lord healed was a stonemason who had special need of that 
hand to earn a living. There is nothing that the rich need 
more than a liberally extended hand, by which they may ob- 
tain the grace of God and build for themselves eternal dwell- 
ings in heaven. Since, then, they should be builders, let 
them see above all things that they have not withered hands 
with which to destroy and not build up their home in heaven, 
like that rich man who said : " I will pull down my barns 
and will build greater." He extends his barns to store his 
plentiful crops, but he does not extend his hand. He de- 
stroyed his barns, and he heard from the Lord : " Thou 
fool!" But if he had extended his hand to the poor and 
there stored his crops, he would have built a much greater 



PARALYTICS IN SOUL. 271 

barn for himself in heaven. There is only this remedy left 
to the miser, what God said to the man with the withered 
hand : " Kise and stand in the middle and stretch forth thy 
hand." Eise from the table of avarice with Matthew, the 
usurer, then, standing in the middle, be content with the 
golden mean and you will not have too much, and you will 
not want ; finally, stretch forth your hand to the poor ; do 
not draw it back, because the Lord said : " It is a more 
blessed thing to give rather than receive" (Acts 20 : 35). 
You ask the reason. First, because " to give is a sign of 
abundance ; to receive is a sign of want," says St. Augustine. 
The generosity of the giver is more blessed than the poverty 
of the receiver ; the former is a sign of liberality, the latter 
of necessity or avarice. Secondly, because the love of the 
benefactor to the one benefited is greater than the love of 
this one to him. So children are more loved by parents than 
parents by children. Thirdly, because the giver is freer ; 
the receiver is under an obligation. Fourthly, because he 
who gives is more honorable than he who receives. Fifthly, 
because it is more useful to give than to receive. He who 
gives, gives temporal and corporeal things, and in return 
receives eternal and spiritual goods. 

IV. The lazy and negligent. Those who are slow and 
sluggish with regard to divine things and the worship of 
God. They seem to have paralysis in their feet who are 
always among the late-comers to church. It is said that in 
the island of Java there are birds without feet that always 
rest in trees. Will we be doing an injury to such paralytics 
if we call them feetless, although they possess them ; but, 
nevertheless, they do not use them for the glory of God nor 
for their own salvation ? Others have no hands, or they are 
paralyzed, since throughout the whole year they make no 
offering to the altar. When there is question of offending 
God, honoring the devil, preparing for worldly display, 
there is no delay and no thought of expense. See the He- 
brews. When they were in the desert, they begged Aaron 
to make gods for them, and in order to turn them from 
their madness he asked them to give him their gold ear- 
rings, women and children alike, thinking that they would 
not part with such precious jewels ; but wickedness and pre- 
posterous liberality overcame them, and they brought them 
to him. But when something is to be brought to the altar 
of God they sadly bewail their fate. They have always will- 



272 EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

ing hands for pleasure and luxuries, but when there is ques- 
tion of promoting the service of God they have no hands, 
they are paralytics. When gold or other precious jewels are 
used to ornament the church, they seem indignant like Alex- 
ander, the Eoman Emperor, who would not allow a particle 
of gold in the temple, saying : li Of what use is gold in the 
temple?" And this in order to hide his avarice. Others 
seem paralyzed in the whole body, who spend Sundays and 
holidays even in sleep and laziness, tied to the bed like the 
paralytic in the gospel. Hence not only precious time is 
lost, but also divine things ; and the habit of laziness, like 
that of paralysis, is contracted, by which man becomes 
slothful in every good and honest work and prone to evil, 
because, as Cato says : " In doing nothing we learn to do 
evil." What is the remedy for this paralysis ? That which 
Christ said to the paralytic : " Kise," and order yourself 
from the table of laziness, because you lie not so much in a 
bed as in a grave. " The laziness of a living man is his 
tomb," says Themistocles. If you were to lie in a pit which 
became filled with snakes, how quickly you would rise. But 
is it not more dangerous to lie in sin than in such a place ? 
Eise, therefore, go to work, and if you are weak, implore 
God for strength. Then take up your bed and force your- 
self to labor and good works. Progress in work renders it 
light. In the beginning David could not carry the arms of 
Saul, not being used to it ; but becoming accustomed to mil- 
itary life, he not only could carry arms but he knew how to 
wield the ponderous sword of Goliath. Finally, "go into 
your house." What house ? The house of eternity. "Man 
shall go into the house of his eternity " (Eccl. 12 : 5). Go, 
therefore, in mind to your grave, to the tribunal of judg- 
ment, to the house of joy or of weeping, and then begin to 
rest. 

V. To these let us add an extra, the souls in purgatory. 
Of these the same thing must be said that the centurion said 
to Christ : " Lord, my boy lies at home a paralytic and is 
badly troubled." The poor souls are boys on account of their 
innocence, free from fault, however, not yet from punish- 
ment. They lie on a burning bed in a house of horror and 
vast solitude. There is nothing to see but torments, nothing 
to hear but groans, nothing to taste but bitterness, nothing 
to touch but fire. sorrowful house ! And what kind are 
the souls who dwell tjiere ? All paralytics, deprived of all 



PARALYTICS IN SOUL. 273 

use of their members, that is, the power of meriting, because 
when life is over they are beyond the state of meriting. 
Therefore, they cannot help themselves, cannot turn from 
side to side, nor raise the hand to the mouth ; they depend 
entirely on others and wait for our aid. Finally, they are 
sadly tormented with a twofold and most bitter torment. 
The first comes from the pain of the damned, which in a 
fourfold manner brings grief to them. First, they see that for 
a time they are deprived of the highest good, and in that time 
in which they should enjoy it. Most earnestly do they seize 
the immensity of that good, and most ardently they desire it. 
Secondly, they see that on account of their fault they are 
kept away from it. Thirdly, because in time they neglected 
to satisfy for their fault when they could easily have done so. 
Fourthly, because they neglected to acquire the immense 
treasure of heavenly goods and degrees of heavenly glory. 
The second comes from the pain of sense which for a three- 
fold reason is most bitter. First, on account of the intensity 
of the fire of purgatory, which, according to the Fathers, is 
far greater than the fire on earth. Secondly, on account of 
duration. For there are very many souls detained there for 
a long time, as the Church indicates on All Souls' Day. The 
pain of fire in this life cannot be long ; but there it will be, 
because the soul can neither die nor lose the strength and 
vivacity of the senses. Thirdly, on account of continuance 
in the same state. Tortures in this life gradually grow mod- 
erate as the animal spirits weaken little by little ; not so in 
the other life, where the soul does not use the aid of the spir- 
its, but by itself immediately suffers the strength of tortures. 
In the sorrows of this life there is frequent interruption by 
sleep, by the conversation of friends, by various distractions, 
of the mind. None of these in purgatory. What, therefore, 
is to be done with these paralytics? They can merit nothing, 
they cannot come to us, they cannot call out to us. Should 
we not then in their stead, after the example of the centurion, 
go to Christ, beseeching him : " Lord, our boys, our brothers, 
our parents, are lying in the house unable to move and 
greatly tormented." Should we not imitate those men who 
carried the paralytic and placed him at the feet of Jesus ? 
Let us, therefore, stand together, break through the roof of 
heaven by our prayers and other pious works, until at length 
we can carry our parents, brothers and sisters, into the pres- 
ence of God and join them for all eternity. 
18 



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, 

THREEFOLD MARRIAGE OF CHRIST. 



I. With human nature. II. With the Church. III. With the soul 
of each of the faithful. 

" The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king who made a marriage for his son " 

(Matt, 22:2). 

"We have heard in to-day's gospel, that the king's son was 
married ; but who was his spouse ? The Fathers who explain 
this parable, assign a threefold one. Some say human nature 
which the Son of G-od united to himself ; others the Church 
which he wedded on the Cross ; others, the soul of each of 
the faithful which he espoused in Baptism ; and after falling, 
in Penance. That threefold promise of espousals made by 
God corresponds with the threefold espousal of Christ : 
" And I will espouse thee to me for ever : and I will espouse 
thee to me in justice and judgment and in mercy and in 
commiserations. And I will espouse thee to me in faith : 
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord" (Osee 2 : 19). 

I. The Son of God contracted marriage with human nature 
when he united it to himself hypostatically in his divine 
nature. St. Gregory so understands to-day's parable : ( ' When 
the divine Word assumed human nature, then the Father 
made a marriage for his Son, when he joined him to human 
nature in the womb of the Virgin." Not in a common but 
in a new and wonderful manner, for in the marriage of human 
beings two persons are united ; in this, however, not two 
persons but two natures in one person only are united. The 
messenger between the two was the Archangel Gabriel per- 
suading the consent of the Virgin, to give from her immacu- 
late and virginal womb her flesh as a spouse to the Son of God. 

274 



THREEFOLD MARRIAGE OF CHRIST. 275 

This marriage is to be admired, first, because the bridegroom 
was of the highest and divine majesty ; the spouse, on the 
contrary, of the lowest condition and misery, removed by an 
infinite distance from the dignity of the bridegroom. For 
although the flesh which Christ received from the Virgin was 
pure and free from all stain, however it was subject to other 
miseries which men suffer, sickness and mortality, for nature 
itself in all men except the Mother of God was corrupt and 
abominable on account of original sin. Men very often enter 
marriage on account of the beauty of the spouse, or on account 
of riches or nobility o £ birth. None of these was in the human 
nature which the Son of God espoused ; but rather of itself 
it was deformed, poor and ignoble. The Ethiopian whom 
Moses married was a type of these espousals (Exod. 2 : 21). 
St. Bernard says : " What so much shows his mercy than 
that he took on him misery itself ? " But the Son of God 
knew how to render his spouse beautiful, rich and noble. 
Secondly, because a wonderful union was effected in this 
marriage. In other marriages there are two persons united 
in one flesh ; but in this, not two persons, but two natures 
in one person are united — namely, the divine and the human ; 
the divine which, like a most powerful giant, sustains the hu- 
man hypostatically, as it is well called by David, first a bride- 
groom, then a giant : " He as a bridegroom coming out of 
his bride-chamber, hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way " 
(Ps. 18 : 6). Hence, the expression that the Word received 
communication from both natures and was called the God- 
man, immortal and mortal, immense and small, etc. St. Dam- 
ascene says: " When we speak of the person, whether we 
name it from both parts together or from one only, we attri- 
bute to it the qualities of each nature. For Christ, which 
word embraces both, is called God and Man, created and un- 
created, passible and impassible. But since on one side the 
Son of God is called God, he received the qualities of the 
joined nature, that is, the flesh. For God is called passible, 
and the Lord of glory is nailed to the cross not as God but 
as man. In the same manner as man he is called the Son of 
man and has received the qualities and adornments of the 
divine essence. The boy is said to be older than time, and 
man is without a beginning ; not indeed as mere boy and man, 
but as God the boy was created before all time. And this is 
the manner of communication : by each nature, namely, com- 
municating its qualities to the other, because they constitute 



270 NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

one and the same person, they mutually merge into each 
other." Thirdly, because the bond is made indissoluble. 
Death cuts the tie of other marriages, not so the bond of the 
divine Word with human nature, both as to the body and to 
the soul. Although death separated the soul of Christ from 
the body for three days, it could not, however, separate the 
soul or the body from the divine Word. For what the Word 
once assumed it never laid aside. Fourthly, because the per- 
fection and consummation of this marriage contrary to the 
order of nature, was made in the passion and death of Christ, 
and, therefore, on the bed of the cross when he said : " It is 
consummated. " Then he was made ' ' Father of future ages," 
and merited to receive a most choice and numerous offspring, 
the Church, of which Isaias said : " If he shall lay down his 
life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed" (53 : 10). Human 
flesh, his spouse bore him this seed or offspring, after he 
poured forth water and blood from his side, to which Isaias 
seems to have alluded when he said : " Thy sons shall come 
from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side" 
(60 : 4). A type of this was shown by God in paradise, when 
from the side of Adam sleeping, his spouse Eve was formed ; 
so by the death of Christ, the Church redeemed was born 
and instituted, formed and sanctified. Hence, we see how 
much we are indebted especially to God the Father who made 
this marriage for his Son with a spouse so abject, urged 
merely by his great love for man. " For God so loved the 
world as to give his only begotten Son " (John. 3 : 16). Then 
to his Son our Lord, who did not repudiate such a vile spouse, 
but by his most cruel death regenerated her to a life of grace 
and glory. Truly we are the children of sorrow, who have 
oppressed with sorrows and put to death our parent. But 
most of all we are indebted to the Mother of God who to con- 
tract this marriage, gave, by consenting, her immaculate flesh 
as a spouse when she said : " Be it done unto me according 
to thy word ; " if she had not given her consent, this marriage 
would not have taken place. 

II. The Son of God celebrated his wedding with the 
Church when he espoused her on the cross. This by very 
many is understood to be the meaning of this parable. St. 
Jerome says : " God makes a marriage for Christ and the 
Church which was composed of Jews and Gentiles." Of 
this spouse, St. John Baptist speaks when he says of Christ : 
"He that hath a bride is the bridegroom" (3 ;28). And. 



Threefold marriage of christ. 277 

St. Paul : " This is a great Sacrament ; but I speak in Christ 
and in the Church" (Ephes. 5 : 32). This marriage was 
made and ratified on the cross, and will be consummated and 
perfected on the day of judgment when he will raise it, in 
his elect, from earth and introduce it into his heavenly 
bridal chamber. The messenger of this marriage was John 
Baptist, when by his testimony, baptism and preaching, he 
disposed and prepared the Jews to embrace the faith of 
Christ. This is a stupendous marriage, because in it a most 
noble bridegroom received a spouse not only vile and com- 
mon, but also foul and abominable, defiled by numerous and 
weighty sins : of whom Eebecca bore a type when, seated on 
a camel, she was brought to her spouse Isaac, as St. Ambrose 
notes. As Rebecca, at the sight of her spouse Isaac, 
taking her cloak, quickly covered herself ; so the Church, 
says St. Gregory, " covered herself with a cloak, because 
having seen the Lord, she was ashamed of the actions of her 
weakness ; and not without reason, for before she was 
washed by her spouse, she was vile and deformed." Do you 
wish to hear of her deformity ? Listen to St. Paul : " For 
you were heretofore darkness" (Ephes. 5:8). What is 
blacker than darkness ? And jet he gave himself for one 
deformed as though beautiful, aimable and admirable. Won- 
dering at this the Apostle says : " Por scarce for a just man 
will one die " (Rom. 5 : 7). " And since he had received such 
a one, he adorns and cleanses her " (St. Chrysostom). The 
wife of Moses was also a type, who was an Ethiopian black 
and deformed, yet she was named Sephora, that is beau- 
tiful according to the Chaldaic ; and as the Church is called, 
''black but beautiful" (Cant. 1), because what was before 
black and deformed afterwards is made beautiful by her 
Spouse. Secondly, because he bought her with his blood. 
It was the custom formerly among the Hebrews and even 
the Gentiles that the bridegrooms should buy their spouses 
from their parents and from themselves. So David bought 
Michol, the daughter of Saul ; Jacob bought Rachel by 
serving her seven years. This custom existed among many 
nations of the earth. Christ the Son of God bought his 
spouse the Church, not by conflict nor by service, much less 
by money, but with his most precious blood ; he even gave 
himself for her ; nor was he content with a single shedding 
of blood — he poured it forth to the last drop. Who will not 
foe dumfounded at this ? Thirdly, because he showed a 



278 NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

wonderful love for his spouse and suffered from it, to conquer 
her and to draw her to himself. Those who intend marrying 
look for reciprocal love from their affianced and strive to 
cultivate it by kindness and costly presents, and hearing 
patiently with sudden outbursts of temper. All these Christ 
did and bore in order to win the love of his spouse. He went 
around everywhere through the Synagogues of Jerusalem and 
in these uttered the sweetest and most heavenly words — words 
of eternal life — " so that they wondered at the words of 
grace that proceeded from his mouth. " He gave his spoase 
gifts when he fed the multitude with the best and most 
nourishing food ; he healed all kinds of diseases ; he raised 
the dead ; he forgave sins and performed innumerable mira- 
cles. Then from her he bore all manner of injury — spitting, 
scourging ; he received from her a crown of thorns, was 
nailed to the cross and there died for her ; nay, he received 
all these as gifts from his spouse and "who having joy set 
before him, endured the cross." Finally, on the cross, he 
prayed for this wicked and ungrateful spouse, and extended 
his arms to embrace her, and dying, bowed his head to kiss 
her. Fourthly, because he communicated to his spouse him- 
self and all he possessed — his merits, examples of virtue, 
heavenly wisdom, his prayers, labors, sufferings and finally 
his name, so that from Christ or anointed we should be called 
Christians, as wives are accustomed to take the names of 
their husbands. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham and mes- 
senger between Isaac and Eebecca, when the marriage con- 
tract was signed, immediately brought gifts to the new 
spouse : " And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold and 
garments, he gave them to Eebecca for a present " (Gen. 
24 : 53). Certainly a figure of the liberality of Christ, with 
which he was to endow his spouse the Church as St. Ambrose 
teaches : " When the Church was espoused, she received 
gold and silver vases in which is the treasure of faith ; " as 
though Christ did not seem to love his Church enough unless 
he made her wealthy. Finally, he gave himself to his spouse 
as food ; as intimately as possible he was joined to her, and 
he most familiarly conversed with her. " Thus in holy com- 
munion between the Word and the soul/' says St. Bernard, 
" as though between two friends, there is familiar converse. 
Pride departs where affection reigns. Where the beloved is, 
the master and king disappear, dignity is put aside, rever- 
ence takes its place. The language of the Word — the favor 



Threefold marriage of christ. 279 

of majesty ; the language of the soul — the fervor of devotion." 
Finally the love and generosity of other couples often last 
for a short time only ; but the love and generosity of Christ 
for his Church know no end, and on the day of judgment 
they will be exposed to view when the Bridegroom will come 
in his splendor to bring his spouse into his kingdom, as the 
parable of the coming of the bridegroom indicates (Matt. 25). 
III. He made a marriage with the soul of each faithful one 
when he espoused it in Baptism by faith and love. li For I 
have espoused you to one husband that I may present you a 
chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). But that spouse 
does not always remain bound to Christ by the twofold bond 
of faith and charity ; for in some of the faithful, those in a 
state of sin, there is the bond of faith only, who as bond- 
women are not loved. The son of Sara was heir to all his 
father's possessions, the son of Agar received from his father 
a few movable gifts. So those who cling to Christ by faith 
and charity are the heirs to his heavenly kingdom ; but 
those who cling by faith only, receive temporal goods only. 
This marriage also is to be admired. First, because it is the 
marriage of the Son of God, with a vile and miserable crea- 
ture, his handmaid. Lest on account of this disparity there 
should beany discord, the bridegroom annihilated himself and 
put on the form of a servant, so that his spouse without dif- 
fidence might cling to him as her equal. Her humble origin 
he decorated with his nobility ; her poverty he enriched with 
his treasures. Secondly, he held all in common with his 
spouse : his power, wisdom and honor, even the Father him- 
self, as she was called the daughter of God and co-heir of the 
Bridegroom. Hence in the Canticles he is said to commu- 
nicate his goods to her : " Flowers have appeared in our land," 
that is, in my land and that of my spouse. St. Bernard 
says : " The expression, ' in our land/ plainly does not denote 
sovereignty but partnership, familiarity, as though a bride- 
groom, and not the Lord, says this. " Thirdly, this marriage, 
this love on the part of the bridegroom is perpetual and in- 
dissoluble as long as the spouse does not repudiate it. St. 
Augustine says : "Let not the spouse fear that she will be 
deserted by the bridegroom ; he does not destroy his pledge. 
What pledge did he give ? He shed his blood ; he sent the 
Holy Spirit. If he did not love his spouse, he would not 
have given such proof of it." Fourthly, the Bridegroom is 
united to the soul when, in Holy Communion, he enters the 



280 NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

heart, where they become as two in one flesh, and where he 
communicates to her his spirit and virtues according to the 
Words of Christ : " He that eateth my flesh and drinketh 
my blood, abideth in me and I in him " (John. 6 : 57). St. 
Laurence Justinian says : " The Lord Jesus has given his 
spouse as a pledge of his love the sacrament of his body and 
blood, that they might be one, not only in spirit but in flesh 
also." Since these things are so, let each one of the faithful 
see how much he owes to Christ the Bridegroom. St. Ber- 
nard says : " Whence this to you, human soul, whence 
such inestimable glory as to merit to be his spouse whom the 
angels desire to look upon ? Whence this that you should 
be the spouse of him whom the sun and moon admire, at 
whose beck worlds are changed ? What will you render to 
the Lord for all that he has done for you ? Who has made 
you the companion of his table, the partner of his kingdom ? 
You are espoused to him and the wedding feast is spread in 
heaven ; there wine will not be lacking ; we shall be filled 
with the fulness of the house of God, and shall drink of the 
torrent of his delights. 



TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

FKUIT OF TKIBULATIOK. 



I. Tribulation purifies : 1. From filth already contracted ; 2. From 
punishment due to sin ; 3. From filth of sins by chance to be 
contracted. II. It illuminates ; 1. It causes us to see what is 
above us ; 2. To see what is below us ; 3. To see what is around 
us ; 4. To see what is in us. III. It perfects ; 1. It disposes to 
virtue ; 2. It stimulates to progress in virtue , 3. It perseveres in 
virtue and grace. 

" He went to him and prayed him to come down and heal his son " (John. 4 : 47). 

At a banquet formerly, Samson proposed this riddle : 
" Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong 
came forth sweetness " (Judges 14 : 14). What does this 
mean ? Samson had killed a lion and found in his month a 
honeycomb. And this is the solution of the riddle : honey 
from the mouth of a lion. But we can in a mystical sense 
otherwise solve this riddle and especially from to-day's gospel. 
Is not death or deathly sickness a fierce lion ? It had 
already begun to devour the ruler's son : " for he was at the 
point of death ; " and yet from this lion sweetness came forth, 
because the affliction of the son was the conversion of the 
father. "While the lion eats the son, the father goes to 
Christ, and thus receives his son and with him salvation : — 
" And himself believed and his whole house." gracious 
lion ! sweet honey ! If the lion had not entered the 
house of this ruler, he would not have believed. The lion 
gnawed at the house and left there the honeycomb of faith 
and salvation. But the ruler is not the only one so fortu- 
nate ; as often as any tribulation, such as hunger, pestilence, 
sickness, death, enters our homes we seem to behold the lion, 
but if afterwards we reflect we will see that he bears honey 

281 



TWKNTiivrii siND.w A.FTEK PENTECOST, 

in his mouth, the incomparable fruit whioh we shall now 
contemplate. St. Denis recounts three hierarchical works 
in which the perfection of the Church is contained : to pur- 
ify ; to illuminate ; to perfeot. Tribulation especially per- 
forms all these, and is a wonderful instrument employee! by 
God, 

[, It purifies, first from filth already contracted beoause if 
makes man return to himself and afterwards to God. Thus 
the prodigal son, forced by hunger, f< returning to himself said: 
How many hired servants in my father's house abound with 
bread, and 1 here perish with hunger ? I will arise and will 
go to my father, etc." (Luke L5 : L7, L8). Thus Jonas flee- 
ing from the faro of the Lord, returned to himself in the 
whale's holly, and bitterly bemoaned his fate, "When my 
soul was in distress within mo. 1 remembered the Lord 

(Jonas 2 ;8), Thus a young man, for example, who lias 
lived a long time in sin, when ho falls siok or is oast into 
prison for somoorimo. soon begins to rot urn to himsolf. to oall 

for the priest, to confess his sins, and to promise an amend- 
ment o( Life, partly on aooount of foar of temporal punish- 

ment, partly of eternal death. And this ho would never have 
done if that adversity had not overtaken him. For this 
reason the Abbot Moses, impelled by the foar o( death whioh 
awaitod him for the crime of homicide, fled to a monastery. 
Angerius Busbeqius Caesar, legate of Ferdinand the First to 
Turkey, relates that when in Asia near the river Halym, he 
asked a peasant if there were many fishes in that stream, and 
how they were oaught. He replied that there was plenty of 
fishes, but that they could not be caught, torevery timehe 

put his hand in the water they would run away from him. 

Aftor the laughter had subsided amongthe legate's followers, 
one of them produced a not and surprised the Turks by the 
number o( fishes ho caught. Often and oft on the Lord extends 
his most Liberal hand to catch the souls of men but they, like 
the fishes, flee from him and do not allow themselves to bo 
caught. Hence Habacuo says well : •* And thou wilt make 
thom as tishos of the sea w (i : it). What, therefore, does the 
Lord do ? He spreads the net o\' tribulation oyer thom. in 
the shape of pestilence, war, famine, etc, and thus draws 
them against their will to his service. Jeremias testifies to 
this in t ho person o( Jerusalem, when ho says : " From above 
he hath sont fire into my bones, and hath chastised me: he 
hath spread a net for my feet : he hath turned me back" 



FRUIT OF TRIBULATION. 233 

(Lament 1 : 13). The same thing happened to Jonas when he 
fled from the command of the Lord Secondly, it purifies 
from the punishment due to sin, if not entirely, at least in 
part. For as the flail separates the wheat from the chaff, so 
tribulation separates the soul from combustible matter — the 
flames of Purgatory. If any chaff adheres to you it will be 
burnt in Purgatory ; if you purify yourself from it while 
here, there will be nothing to burn, and yon will be gathered 
into the heavenly mansions. Hence G-od calls his people 
Israel: " my thrashing and the children of my floor." 
(Tsaias21 : 10). Wherefore, to be afflicted by Cod, is the 
greatest benefit we can receive here below. St. Augustine 
says: " If you are gold, why do you fear the fire? if you 
are wheat, why do you fear the flail ? You will not appear 
what you were in the field unless you are separated from the 
chaff." Thirdly, it purifies from the possible contracting of 
the filth of sin ; because it urges man not to be idle and not 
to give himself up to pleasures; for it beats down his flesh 
and holds captive that ferocious beast concupiscence lest it 
harm us and draw us into many crimes. As long as the 
Romans were tormented by their enemy the Carthaginians 
so long were they warlike and powerful ; after they had des- 
troyed Carthage they became dissolute and effeminate and 
torn by internal strife. In like manner, as long as Cod 
harasses us by the movements of his soldiers — famine, war, 
pestilence, disease, etc., so long will we take care of ourselves 
and abstain from wiekedness and vice. When he ceases to 
trouble us, then we become worse. Our concupiscence, un- 
less restrained, is like an unmanageable horse bearing us to 
sure death, according to the words of God : " They are all 
turned to their own course, as a horse rushing to the battle" 
(Jer. 8 : G). What, therefore is the remedy ? That which 
God formerly prescribed to Josue : "Thou shalt hamstring 
their horses " (Jos. 11 : G). God therefore hamstrung this 
horse of ours by famine, pestilence, etc. Then the horse 
begins to go lame, then ceases all sinful revelry and it ap- 
pears as though some pestilence had seized the city. As you 
would not grieve if some one were to seize you by the foot as 
you were falling into a pit, even though he should dislocate 
your foot, so it is to be counted a benefit if by temporal 
afflictions we are seized and prevented from falling into the 
infernal pit. 

U. It illuminates. This is very well represented by the 



284: TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

gall of that fish which by the aid and advice of the angel 
Tobias took, and to whom the angel said : " Take with thee 
the gall of the fish, for it will be necessary " (Tob. 11 : 4). 
With the gall Tobias illumined the eyes of his father, who 
had been made blind by the filth of swallows. And what is 
this filth of swallows but the honors, wealth and pleasures 
of this world ? By these man is blinded, and only through 
tribulation is he illumined, as through contempt, poverty, 
hunger, sickness, etc., as our first parents then only knew 
they were naked when they had been despoiled of original 
justice. St. Gregory says : " The eyes which crime closes, 
punishment opens." But what does tribulation make us 
see ? First, those things that are above us, God and the 
saints. Those who in the time of prosperity forget God and 
his saints in the time of tribulation are accustomed to remem- 
ber and to have recourse to them, having learned that refuge is 
to be found in God alone and in the patronage of his saints. 
Thus the Hebrews when prosperous worshiped false gods, 
but in adversity they returned to God, as we read in the 
books of Exodus and Kings. The same thing appears to- 
day in the ruler who would not have come to Christ if he 
had not been afflicted. Lactantius writes of the Gentiles : 
" They never remembered God unless when they were in 
trouble. Afterwards, when there was no longer any fear 
and the evils had vanished, they quickly returned to the 
temples of their gods and offered sacrifice ; but God, whom 
they had implored in their necessity, they did not thank by 
even a word." So Julian the Apostate, at the sight of spec- 
ters, made the sign of the cross, which he otherwise would 
never have done. So some men, when forced by necessity, 
remember God. I shall say nothing of the power of God, 
which can crush the strongest ; the justice of God, which at 
length justly punishes sin ; the mercy of God, who even 
when angry remembers mercy, and ' ' who giveth snow like 
wool ; " that is, he does not send it all at once, to crush us 
and ours, but after the manner of wool as though carding 
it ; so that it should fall on us gently and sweetly. He does 
the same with tribulation by not placing it heavily and at 
once on us, but lightly and by degrees. Secondly, those 
things that are below us, hell and purgatory. When we 
suffer from headache or toothache we think and say : good 
God, what will be the pain of purgatory or hell if the brief 
pain of one member, with so many remedies at hand, con- 



FRUIT OF TRIBULATION. 285 

tinues to harass us ? What will it be, without any comfort 
and hope of redemption, to be tortured in hell in all the 
members and senses ? Thirdly, those things that are around 
us, the world and the things in it. In times of prosperity 
we scarcely know the world : who is a friend, who is an 
enemy : which is wheat and which is chaff. But when trib- 
ulation comes upon us, then we know who is our friend and 
God's, and who is not. The wheat remains, the chaff flies 
away. Then we do not know the good things in this world, 
because either we rate them too much, or through ingrati- 
tude, we do not rate them as much as we should. Or we 
show too much affection for them, as though they were 
eternal and could make us happy, and then tribulation shows 
us how frail and weak they are like a reed staff. How many 
are there who, having lost the highest honors, wealth and 
pleasures, descend to the commission of even atrocious crimes. 
We never think whence our good fortune comes to us, and 
we are ungrateful to God. When tribulation deprives us of 
it, then we open our eyes and exclaim : what a blessing 
is health ! how sweet is peace ! how smoothly things went 
with us when our barns were well filled ! Fourthly, those 
things that are in us : infirmity, blindness, inconstancy, our 
sins and defects. How many things with Peter do we pre- 
sumptuously propose which in time of adversity we forget, 
denying Christ ? How blind we are to our defects which we 
do not see unless through tribulation ! The brothers of 
Joseph did not perceive the crime they committed against 
him until after they had been afflicted by him, although un- 
known to them. Then they began to say : "We deserve to 
suffer these things, because we have sinned against our 
brother (Gen. 42 : 21). In like manner the impious Antio- 
chus when stricken with a deadly malady, cried out : "But 
now I remember the evils which I have done in Jerusalem. 
I know therefore that for this cause these evils have found me " 
(1 Mach. 6 : 12). Malicious ones often point out our sins to 
us which we ourselves do not see. Philip of Macedon re- 
joiced that the Athenians were hostile to him, because on 
account of their accusations he saw his defects and corrected 
them so as to make liars of his enemies. 

III. Tribulation perfects because it leads us to the end for 
which we were created. First it disposes to all virtues and 
a fuller grace. Hence the apostle says : " Tribulation 
worketh patience" (Rom. 5:3). It renders man patient and 



286 TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

obedient in all things. As birds of the forest are tamed in a 
cage, wild horses by the bridle, dogs by the leash ; so man 
otherwise unruly, by tribulation becomes meek, patient and 
obedient to God. We often see sick people who before were 
uncontrollable at length become mild, and suffering patiently: 
likewise murderers, thieves and robbers subdued in jail ; and 
if they are led forth to punishment they show themselves 
meek and humble. Patience is a fruitful soil — tribulation 
the plow ; and after plowing it bears rich fruit. Blessed 
Antiochus says: "Unless the wax be softened it will not 
take the impression of the seal ; so man, unless he be tried, 
and softened by tribulations cannot receive the impression of 
the seal of divine grace." " Poverty carried poor Lazarus on 
to philosophy, grief to virtue, and contempt to patience," 
says Peter Chrysologus. What causes this beggar deserted 
by all to suffer hunger patiently, and not curse the rich 
man, until at length he is borne by the hands of angels to 
heaven ? Poverty surely and tribulation. In summer time 
the robin disports himself in fields and woods, seemingly un- 
mindful of man : but when winter comes, he hastens to our 
doors and windows humbly begging a few crnmbs of bread. 
What makes this bird so tame, and clothes him as it were 
with another nature unless the winter of adversity ? These 
things we have before our eyes daily and yet we do not per- 
ceive that God is playing the same game with us. How many 
in time of prosperity, revel in luxury and wealth and boast 
of it ! But when the winter of adversity comes upon them, 
they sink to the lowest level and call those friends whom be- 
fore they would not acknowledge. How many become tame 
in want who in plenty were wild and hard-hearted. Secondly, 
it impels to progress in virtue and to the love of God while 
it forbids worldly things and makes them bitter. " The 
beauty of the road, while it delights, retards the footsteps of 
the traveler. The Lord therefore makes the road hard for 
those traveling to him, lest they, feasting on earthly delights, 
should prolong their journey/' says St. Gregory. No one 
will delay long on a road infested with robbers. Where 
there is pleasure, where things are offered at a low price, 
there the travelers stop. But what are the delights of this 
world ? only filth ; and the inns only stables ! Therefore 
God by tribulation teaches us to seek better things : " Lest a 
traveler tending to his country should choose a stable for 
his home," says St. Augustine, 



FRUIT OF TRIBULATION. 287 

Thirdly, it preserves and confirms us in virtue and the 
love of God. The heat of the sun easily deprives the traveler 
of his coat ; not so the cold northern blast. So prosperity 
often deprives man of the grace and charity of God, while it 
opens to him the door to temporal comforts. But adversity, 
as it were, so wraps up a man that he cannot even if he wished 
indulge in fleeting pleasures. 

Finally, this is the key of heaven itself, as the apostles tes- 
tify : " That through many tribulations we must enter into 
the Kingdom of God " (Acts 14 : 21). With this key Christ 
himself opened the gate to his glory : " Ought not Christ to 
have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory ? " 
(Luke 24: 26). 

They therefore err who, when afflicted by various tribula- 
tions, consider themselves worse than other men. Christ cor- 
rects this error in the Jews when he says : "Or those eight- 
een upon whom the tower fell in Siloe, and slew them : 
think you that they also were debtors above all the men that 
dwell in Jerusalem ? No, I say, to you : but except you do 
penance, you shall all likewise perish " (Luke 13 : 4, 5). The 
inhabitants of Melitus judged the Apostle Paul a wicked man 
because a viper attacked him and clung to his hand. So the 
friends of Job did not believe him innocent when they saw 
him covered with so many sores. But they all erred. They 
would have been more correct had they judged them as 
children of God, whom they saw so afflicted by the father. 
" Wherefore, rather consider it a joy, brethren, when you 
shall suffer many temptations," says James. 



TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 

THE SOULS IN PURGATORY ARE MOST DESERVING OF AID. 



I. Because they are in a most calamitous state. II. Because they 
cannot help themselves. III. Because they are holy and heirs 
of heaven. IV. Because they are our brothers and sisters. V. 
Because they are held captive only on account of the guilt of 
punishment. 

" And cast him into prison till he should pay the deht " (Matt. 18 : 30). 

I am forced, my brethren, to ask yon to-day for a very 
generous alms. There are numberless Christians detained 
in a certain most cruel prison and bound for certain debts 
not so great. They are all noble and of the highest family ; 
nay more, they are your relatives and friends. In that prison 
they are cruelly tortured, nor can they leave it to seek aid 
from others. In the name of these, then, I beseech you, 
brethren. Do you wish to know who they are ? They are 
the faithful souls detained in purgatory on account of certain 
debts contracted and not yet redeemed. They are all noble 
because they are children of God and heirs of heaven, they 
are your relatives and friends. Their prison is not that into 
which a wicked servant is thrown never to be released (such 
means hell), but that into which to-day's gospel says the 
servant was cast by his master for a debt of one hundred 
pence. There they are kept by God, a severe judge, nor are 
they allowed out until they pay the last farthing ; unless you 
Christians come to their aid. Therefore, open the bowels 
of your mercy ; but listen first to what I shall say. 

I. These souls are most deserving of aid because they are 
in a most calamitous state, tortured by the two severest 
pains, that of the damned and of the senses. The former 
excludes the heirs from that most delightful kingdom pre- 
pared for them ; from the presence of a most loving parent, 

288 



SOULS IN PURGATORY ARE DESERVING OF AID. 289 

as Absalom from the sight of his father preferred rather to 
die than to live. It excludes them from the most delightful 
companionship of the Angels and Saints, from the gorgeous 
splendor of heaven and holds them in darkness. The latter 
afflicts them more gravely than the pains of the martyrs, or 
the tortures of condemned criminals according to Saint Au- 
gustine, St. Gregory, Bede, Anselm, Bernard, Thomas Aqui- 
nas, who adds that it is more cruel than the tortures of the 
suffering Christ. According to the common opinion, the 
fire of purgatory does not differ in species from the fire of 
hell ; it acts not with natural force, but as the instrument of 
God. The heavier the stripes, the stronger the one who 
administers them. The jaw-bone of an ass, in the hand of 
Samson, slew a thousand men, which in the hand of another 
would not have killed even a dog. The scourge made of 
cords in the hand of Christ ejected sheep and oxen and all 
the sellers from the temple, which in the hand of another 
would not frighten a child. Whence God says : "If I shall 
whet my sword as the lightning, and my hand take hold on 
judgment" (Deut. 32 : 41). Who does not know the power 
of lightning ? It penetrates everything ; it destroys every- 
thing ; so with the sword of God. We have the testimony 
of those who have seen the torments, and of those who have 
suffered them. St. Antoninus says that to a certain soul one 
hour in the pains of purgatory seemed longer than many 
years, so that he begged to come back to earth to suffer any 
kind of pain for any number of years. Another, according 
to St. Boniface, having come back to life, saw the souls in 
purgatory as in a lake of burning sulphur, some partly im- 
mersed, others entirely, until at length they came out puri- 
fied. 

II. They are so confined and bound, as to be unable to 
help themselves, or free themselves. Nor can they any 
longer work for themselves, for that night has come to 
them of which Christ says: "The night cometh when 
no man can work " (Jno. 9:4). Nor can they cry out 
to us, much less can they go out to seek help. Very rarely 
has it been permitted one of them to appear to the living to 
seek aid either for himself or others. Did not the Caphar- 
naites carry the paralytic to Christ, since he was unable to 
move himself, and let him down through the roof ? Cranes 
in flight are accustomed to sustain their weakened and tired 
companions until they regain their strength, as natural 
19 



200 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

historians relate. Storks nourish and carry on their backs 
their featherless parents, says St. Basil. Tired out and 
featherless are the souls in purgatory ; of their own strength 
they cannot fly from their chains to heaven ; moreover, they 
are blind, while they do not know how long they will be de- 
tained in prison. And will we not render them assistance 
as brutes render to brutes ? 

III. Because they are not of a low or servile condition, 
but all most noble, all holy and innocent, all sons and daugh- 
ters of God, heirs of the heavenly kingdom, although now in 
want, misery and chains. Who will not have pity on such ? 
Blessed Peter Damien narrates that when the Marchioness 
Guilla was traveling through Italy she came to a church, 
which was commonly called St. Mary the Poor. Being very 
indignant she remarked : " Far be it from us to call her poor, 
who elevated above the angels possesses eternal riches in 
heaven." She made a large bequest to that church, and from 
thenceforward no one dared call it poor. The purifying souls 
are children of God, and yet, while they are in purgatory, 
they are poor, nay, vory poor. Whence they are commonly 
called the poor faithful souls. Who will suffer the children 
of God to be called poor ? who will not be indignant, who 
will not constantly strive to assist them ? Certainly the more 
virtuous one is, the more worthy is he of benefit ; as the 
richer the soil the more abundant the fruit. But, because 
all those souls are holy, they are therefore most worthy of 
aid ; who, also, in their time will yield fruit a hundred-fold. 

IV. Because, moreover, they are our brothers and sisters. 
When Mary the sister of Moses was struck with leprosy for 
murmuring, she was placed outside the camp in a solitary 
place for seven days, (C and the people moved not from the 
place until Mary was called again " (Num. 12 : 15). As 
though they should not cease to pray for her until she should 
be healed, the woman of their race, the sister of their leader. 
So our brothers and sisters have been confined in purgatory 
for crimes committed. What shall we do ? shall we ignore 
them ? By no means. Let us stand together and not move 
a foot until we have used every means for their liberation. 
Otherwise, the very brute creation will confound us. Lewis, 
of Granada, writes that a dog in a certain monastery of his 
order was accustomed to steal food and bring it to his sick 
comrade lying outside the monastery gate. What more 
could man do ? 



SOULS IN PURGATORY ARE DESERVING OF AID. 291 

A species of fish in the Norwegian ocean on account of 
their hoodlike appearance are called monks, and if one of 
their number is captured they create such a tumult around 
the boat as almost to upset it, and they do not depart until 
the captive is set free. Shall we not do the same thing for 
our captive brothers and sisters in purgatory ? 

Our tumult and noise will be pleasing to God, if by good 
works we bear violence against heaven. St. Augustine says : 
" The pig grunts and all the others grunt with him ; the 
ass falls and many rush to raise him. But the poor soul 
cries out in torments and there is no one to answer. What 
inhumanity ! " 

Y. Because they are detained there for no crime, but only 
on account of the guilt of punishment or certain debts for 
sin contracted and not yet paid. They, therefore, do not 
suffer as malefactors but as debtors and that for slight offenses. 
It is not necessary for us to deprive ourselves of all our good 
works to liberate them ; it will be sufficient to offer a part 
for them. There are three parts in every satisfactory work : 
merit, satisfaction and obtaining by request. The first re- 
mains always with us, the other two we may apply to others, 
and if we apply them to the poor souls God will reward us a 
hundred-fold. 

But how, you will say, shall we free them from that prison? 
In four ways : by the Sacrifice of the Mass, by which as a 
most grateful gift we please God ; by prayer and intercession ; 
by almsgiving and by fasting. All these the Sacred Scripture 
clearly professes to us. Judas Macchabseus ordered sacrifice 
to be offered for his dead soldiers (2 Mach. 12). St. 
Augustine says that the poor souls are more benefited by the 
sacrifice of the Body of Christ, if in the old law they were 
benefited by the sacrifice of animals. In the Sacrifice of the 
Mass we send to God the Father his Son as a most acceptable 
gift, and by this we appease his justice and temper his stern- 
ness. Pilate became reconciled to Herod when he sent Christ 
to him : will not God be pleased if we send him his beloved 
Son in the Sacrifice of the Mass ? 

Secondly, prayer. Of this Judas Macchabseus says : " It is 
a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they 
may be loosed from their sins." 

Thirdly, almsgiving. Tobias said to his son : " Lay out 
thy bread and thy wine on the burial of a just man " (4 : 18) ; 
that is, give alms to the poor and to the priests. This is a 



292 TWENTY-FIRST STTNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

twofold charity because it nourishes the poor and frees the 
poor suffering souls. 

Fourthly, fasting and other works of mortification. Of 
this we have an example in David who on account of the 
death of Saul fasted till evening (2 Kings 1). 

For the same reason the men of Jabes G-alaad fasted seven 
days (1 Kings 31 :13). 

Since all these are so, who will be so hard-hearted, so in- 
human as not to strive to liberate those poor captives ? Who 
will not despoil himself of superfluities, go and sell them, 
and thus buy freedom for those suffering ones ? Do you 
need all the jewelry you wear, the extravagant clothing you 
order ? Will not the poor souls in purgatory more securely 
carry you to heaven than those superfluous things ? Would 
not your entry into heaven with some poor soul be more pleas- 
ing to Christ than if you were arrayed in the most costly 
raiment and jewels ? Use therefore every means in your 
power to release the poor souls from their torturing flames 
and they in turn will bring you to share in their eternal joys. 



TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER 
PENTECOST. 

HOW OUR GOODS MUST BE DIVIDED WITH GOD. 



I. Thoughts. II. Words. III. Studies and labors. IV. Days. 
V. Wealth. 

" Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's : and to God the things 
that are God's " (Matt. 22 : 21). 

It is narrated in 3 Kings 3 that two women contended be- 
fore Solomon about the possession of a child whom each 
claimed as her own. In order to find the true mother, the 
king in a most wise judgment ordered the child to be divided 
into two parts, and one part to be given to each woman. 
When the true mother heard this she begged the child to be 
given alive to the other woman ; but the other who was not 
the mother said : " Neither to me nor to thee, but let it be 
divided." By this it was discovered that the former was the 
true mother. In like manner God and the world fight for 
man. God as creator and Lord : the world as a friend, 
without whom it is difficult to live. 

But Christ in to-day's gospel pronounces a wise judgment : 
namely, that man be divided, and what belongs to God be 
given to God, and what belongs to the world be given to the 
world. 

I. The thoughts of our heart must be divided, which are 
commonly made little of, since however they should be highly 
valued as the offspring of a most noble mother, the intellect, 
and therefore they are earnestly desired by God, that they 
may be busy with him and not with vain and secular things. 
Hence he says to the spouse, that is, to each just soul : " Put 

293 



294 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

me as a seal upon thy heart" (Cant. 8 : 6), that is, always 
remember me and think of me as those do who use some 
sign to help the memory. The wax receives from the seal 
its form and likeness ; so our heart, when it thinks of God, 
receives the actual likeness of God. God desires, therefore, 
as far as possible, that we should always be engaged in the 
contemplation of the highest good, and moreover that by this 
very act we may be assimilated. But, on the other hand, the 
world protests against this ; and as Pharao so burdened the 
Hebrews with labors that they could not think of God and 
his sacrifice, so the world strives to draw all our thoughts to 
itself : many things are necessary to be done, to be disposed 
of, to be sought for the nourishment of the body, to preserve 
the family, friendship, etc. What therefore must be done ? 
Let these thoughts be divided : a part given to God, since 
all cannot be given ; a part that is necessary given to the 
world. Let no day pass without often thinking of our high- 
est good and the things pertaining to him : why am I here ? 
by whom created and for what end ? why have I received an 
immortal soul ? and how long shall I remain here ? what 
shall I answer to that Judge ? Likewise daily remember 
your last end. This is most fitting, because God is the most 
noble object of our intellect and the most necessary and the 
scope of all our actions, to whom in all our works we should 
cry out and moreover have him always before our eyes, be- 
cause on him we depend each moment of our lives ; because 
otherwise we show that we do not love God, who never or 
very rarely remember him ; for the heart of the lover is where 
he loves, or as the Lord says : " For where thy treasure is, 
there is thy heart also" (Matt. 6 : 21). Hence Dalila said to 
Samson: "How dost thou say thou lovest me, when thy 
mind is not with me ? " (Judg. 16 : 15). Secondly, it is most 
pleasant, for the memory of God can expel all sadness from 
the heart, as David found when he said : "I remembered 
God, and was delighted" (Ps. 76 : 3). It is a certain portion 
of beatitude to think of God, for beatitude itself consists in 
the intellectual vision of God. Who will not rejoice if he 
considers that he has the greatest, most just, richest, mildest 
God, who cannot be taken away from him by any one, 
whom he can find at all times and in all places, and before 
whom he cannot be accused falsely ? Thirdly, because it is 
most useful. For the soul is not only fed and nourished by 
guch thoughts, but even greater merits are acquired, since 



HOW OUR GOODS MUST BE DIVIDED WITH GOD. 295 

with secular thoughts time for the most part is hadly spent. 
St. Jerome says : " Do you wish to know how the thoughts 
of men are vain ? The father and mother nourish their son 
and promise themselves happiness with him ; they educate 
him ; he becomes a young man ; a grand career is open to 
him ; fever attacks him and he is carried off. 0, the cares 
of men ! One thought alone brings happiness — to think 
of God." 

II. What are our words which we use among ourselves ? 
Nearly all about food and raiment, about feasts and ban- 
quets, about gain and honors, etc. ; nothing about God and 
divine things ; nay, more, if one should speak of these at a 
banquet he would be laughed at and not listened to. But 
by what right is this ? He who gave speech and tongue, is 
he not also entitled to some part of your speech ? Peter says : 
6 If any speak, let him speak as the words of God " (1 Pet. 
4 : 11). Therefore by right we divide our speech, and give part 
to secular affairs and part to God. First, this is most just, 
because if we bear God in the heart and sincerely love him, we 
will speak freely about him, we will act and will hear : ' ' Prom 
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." We should 
give thanks for the daily benefits of God and say with Daniel : 
(i God has remembered me." Secondly, because this is 
pleasing. For when David was tired from work he was ac- 
customed to sing the psalms. " Thy justifications were the 
subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage" (Ps. 
118 : 54). The same thing the Apostle advises : " Speaking to 
yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual canticles, 
singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord" 
(Ephes. 5 : 19). What traveler is not refreshed when he 
hears talk about the Holy Land to which he is tending ? 
Who does not freely read about it, speak about it and inquire 
about it ? But we all are tending to that land of celestial 
happiness. In the time of St. Jerome even the laborers and 
farmers sang their sacred hymns. The first word that infants 
learned was Alleluia. Thirdly, it is most fruitful. " Where 
there are two or three gathered together in my name, there 
I am in the midst of them," says the Lord. , This was the 
case with the disciples who, on their way to Emmaus, were 
speaking of his passion. On the other hand, without doubt, 
when the conversation is profane and vile, there the devil is 
in the midst rejoicing aud urging them on. 

III. If we consider our studies, labors and industries, 



296 TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

nearly all these the world wants for itself. Like ants we 
run on the earth and bend all our energies to seeking food 
and raiment, honors and wealth, etc. But what does our 
Lord say to this ? " Lay not up for yourselves treasures on 
earth : where the rust and the moth consume, and where 
thieves dig through and steal. But lay up for yourselves 
treasures in heaven ; where neither the rust nor the moth 
doth consume, and where thieves do not dig through nor 
steal" (Matt. 6 : 19, 20). " Labour not for the meat which 
perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting 
life" (Jno. 6:27). Behold God seeks our industry; the 
world also seeks it. What must be done ? It certainly would 
be desirable to give all to God, but since that cannot be, let 
the labor be divided, and a part for nourishing the body be 
given to the world, and a part for nourishing the soul be 
given to God. Therefore, let no day pass without some 
good works. For if the Emperor Titus did not allow a day 
to pass without doing some good, and if by chance he omitted 
it, he said : ' *' Friends, I have lost a day ; " how much more 
does it behoove us Christians to do good works ? What we 
do here we store in heaven, and in the proper time shall find 
it. But if we store little when we could have stored much, 
shall we not then say : Alas, friends, how many days have I 
lost ! If we could ask of the damned and the souls in pur- 
gatory, nearly all would answer : Alas, how many days 
have I lost ! That labor is lost which we spend on the 
body ; only that remains and lays up a treasure in heaven 
which we spend on the soul. He who has two horses equally 
divides their food ; we have body and soul ; let us give to 
each, therefore, its just measure of food. 

Secondly, the incomparable excellence of the heavenly re- 
ward demands it. Because (i eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God 
has prepared for those who love him." 

Should we not then fight strenuously for such a reward ? 
If we spend all our days, months and years in secular pur- 
suits and derive no spiritual profit, how can we expect an 
eternal reward ? St. Paul savs : " If any man will not work, 
neither let him eat " (2 These. 3 : 10). 

IV. We must make a division of our days : let the work 
days be given to the world, and the holidays to God : since 
he calls these his own. ' ' They have violated my Sabbath " 
(Ezech. 20). Let us therefore give to God what is God's 



HOW OUR GOODS MUST BE DIVIDED WITH GOD. 297 

and he will give to us what is ours — food and sustenance. 
As Peter walking on the water did not begin to sink until 
he had doubted : in like manner we shall not want if we 
give to God the days that are his. But because we have not 
confidence in God, then we begin to sink. 

V. What about our substance ? shall we give nothing to 
God ? Solomon spent more on the temple than on his own 
house. " Honour the Lord with thy substance " (Prov. 3 : 9). 
Although God does not seek our goods, but his honor, let 
us show that we are his vassals, that we have all things from 
him, by offering him a small part at least, after the custom 
of all nations. There was no law in existence when Cain 
and Abel brought their offerings to God : the former, the 
fruits of the earth ; the latter, the first of his flock : nature 
alone impelled them to do this. The world on the contrary 
orders that we should spend all our substance on ourselves, 
family, friends, animals, etc. How unjust it is to have noth- 
ing to give to God and his poor. To whom does God liken 
such a spendthrift ? To that rich man in the gospel who 
said : " Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, 
take thy rest, eat, drink and make good cheer ; " but on the 
following night he heard the Lord saying to him : " Thou 
fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee : and whose 
shall those things be, which thou hast provided ? " And im- 
mediately the Lord adds : " So is he that layeth up treasure 
for himself, and is not rich towards God" (Luke 12 : 19-21). 

Many indeed are rich towards the world but not towards 
God. If you have two houses and you wish to spend the 
winter in one, will you not in summer send supplies there so 
as not to be in want ? But we wish to live in heaven : why 
therefore do we not send thither a part of our substance ; 
for as the Apostle says : " He who soweth sparingly, shall 
also reap sparingly : and he who soweth in blessings, shall 
also reap of blessings " (2 Cor. 9:6); that is, liberally and 
profusely. 



TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTE- 
COST. 

WHY PEKAKCE SHOULD NOT BE PUT OFF FKOM DAY TO DAY. 



I. Because God is waiting for you to do penance. II. Because there 
is danger in delay. III. Because from one sin it is easy to fall 
into others. IV. Because in the meantime much good is lost. 
V. Because those who always put off scarcely ever will effica- 
ciously. VI. Because the longer penance is put off the more 
difficult it becomes. VII. Because it is stupid not to wish to 
eject the enemy immediately. 

"Lord, my daughter is just now dead ; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she 

shall live" (Matt. 9 : 18). 

Let us, with good reason, hear that ruler as though he 
were a doctor of our law also. For he teaches us two things 
most necessary and salutary. The first, after sin has been 
admitted, to seek the remedy immediately and not to put off 
penance. The second, to hasten to the priest, who through 
the imposition of hand may absolve us from sin. St. Peter 
Chrysologus says : " Since this man was a ruler, he knew 
the law and had read that man was formed by the hand of 
God : he believed, therefore, that by the same hand, by 
which his daughter had been created, she could be restored 
to life/' Our only daughter, as was this one of Jairus, is 
the soul, which, alas, dies when it admits mortal sin. " The 
soul that sinneth, the same shall die" (Ezech. 18:20). 
There is a remedy, however, for this death, if you go to the 
confessor and ask him through the imposition of hand to 
recall your soul back to life. But see that with the ruler 
you hasten while the soul is yet warm ; see that you do not 
put off from day to day, for you have only one soul. St. 
Chrysostom says : ' ' God gave us all things double : two eyes, 

298 



WHY PENANCE SHOULD NOT BE PUT OFF. 299 

two ears, two hands, two feet. If one of these be wounded, 
we have the other to console us. He gave us but one soul. 
If we lose this, how shall we live ? Let us provide then for 
this, preferring nothing to its salvation. There are many 
reasons which urge us not to put off the salvation of the soul. 

I. Because God is waiting for us to do penance, who can at 
any moment more easily cast us into hell than if we allow a 
glass to fall and to be broken into fragments. Surely if we 
were called by our superior to patch a friendship which we 
violated, who would dare to trifle with him, to delay ? But 
for this end God calls us, and do we dare to bear enmity 
towards him for a moment ? When Antiochus Epiphanes 
laid siege to Alexandria, which was under the protectorate of 
the Romans, Popilius Lsenas, a Roman Senator, was sent to 
him who ordered him to raise the siege, if not, he would be 
considered an enemy of the Romans. He answered that 
he would more maturely consider the matter and then give 
his answer. At this the Senator made a line around Antioch 
and said : "Is there a doubt that you are an enemy of the 
Romans ? you shall not pass this line until you define your 
position." " I will obey/' said Antiochus, and he raised the 
siege. How much more truly can this be said to the sinner : 
Do you dare to put off your return to the friendship of God ? 
You shall not pass a day, the circle of the sun, until you de- 
fine your position. Otherwise how will you not stimulate 
the anger of God more and more towards you who so long 
put him off waiting. Remember that vine from which the 
Lord expected grapes "and it brought forth wild grapes" 
(Isa. 5 : 4), and therefore he ordered it to be destroyed. 
Remember the unfruitful fig-tree which for three years was 
expected to bear fruit and at length was ordered to be cut 
down. No wonder ; this negligence redounds to the great- 
est injury to God : as though we had a stupid or wooden 
God. 

II. Because there is danger in delay ; for perhaps life will 
not be prolonged for you as long until you repent ; and if 
that be conceded you, perhaps the grace of repentance will 
not be given you. Hasten therefore to penance as to the 
healing pool when the water is moved, lest perchance an- 
other go down before you, for he who went down first to the 
pool was healed (Jno. 5). Whence Ecclesiasticus says: 
"Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not 
from day to day. For his wrath shall come on a sudden ; 



300 TWENTY -THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

and in the time of vengeance he will destroy thee" (5 :8, 9). 
Perhaps there is no doubt but that the water is oftener 
moved, that is, the grace of vocation is offered you : but it is 
uncertain whether you pay heed to that movement and voca- 
tion. " Cling to penance as a drowning man clings to a 
plank," says St. Ambrose. Penance is the second plank 
after the wreck. But perhaps you will object that in Scrip- 
ture life and salvation are promised to those hoping in God. 
But do you not notice that those promises are made not to 
sinners but to the just only ? " The eyes of the Lord are upon 
the just and his ears unto their prayers " (Ps. 33 : 16). 
" Say to the just man that it is well " (Isa. 3 : 10). He speaks 
of sinners otherwise. ( ' Cut it down therefore ; why doth it 
take up the ground?" (Luke 13 : 7). Do not flatter yourself 
about the mercy of Cod ; for in him there is justice also, and 
that the most severe : since he did not spare the sinning 
Angels, but on account of one sin he hurled them into hell. 
He is the same now who from the highest throne of glory 
beholds those in the intolerable flames of hell wailing and 
lamenting, nor will their cries move him to mercy through- 
out all eternity. Therefore do not flatter yourself too much. 

III. Because from one sin, unless you soon repent, you 
will be precipitated into others : one begets many, as was the 
case with Cain, who from envy fell into hatred, then into 
murder, from this into lying, then into rebellion against God 
and finally into despair. From adultery David fell into 
murder. Who does not know that a single rope is easily 
broken, but if many are twisted together how difficult? By 
adding sins to sins, you are making a stronger rope. " Woe 
to you that draw iniquity with cords of vanity" (Isa. 5 : 18). 
As moneys received from a usurer, unless soon returned, always 
increase the debt : so sms which are not soon wiped out in- 
crease. The devil, the usurer, demands sins as usury for sins : 
when you pay him you lay up wrath for yourself against the 
day of wrath. 

IV. Because in the meantime you lose very many goods 
which you could have gained if you were in the state of grace. 
For as long as you are in the state of sin, your wife, your 
soul brings forth dead offspring to you, works namely wanting 
in merit, nothing profitable for heaven, and when others are 
taking heaven by force, you are absent asleep. 

V. Because those who put off from day to day almost never 
efficaciously will : and he who does not begin with the pres- 



WHY PENANCE SHOULD NOT BE PUT OFF. 301 

©nt occasion offered, scarcely will begin afterwards. They 
put off from feast to feast, from year to year, no time pleases 
them. As lazy girls bind the flax on the distaff but do not 
apply the hand with the spindle nor do they begin to make 
thread : so many carry the flax on the distaff because they 
propose to amend ; in the meantime they never seize the 
spindle. On the other hand the wise woman "hath sought 
wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands 
and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle " (Prov. 31 : 
13, 19). Alcuin says : "Perhaps you say, to-morrow you will 
be converted. crow voice, the crow did not return to the 
Ark, the dove returned." It seems that the crow returned 
to the top of the Ark and perched there, from what is said 
in the Chaldean text : " He went out and returned," but he 
did not return into the Ark and to Noe. By the same reason 
some propose to return to God through penance, nor are they 
far from it : they come into the church but they cannot 
enter the Confessional. 

VI. Because the longer conversion is put off, the more 
difficult it becomes, as can be gathered from to-day's Gospel. 
The girl did nothing towards her resuscitation ; the woman 
with the flow of blood should do many things, rush through 
the crowd, follow Christ and touch his garment. Again, this 
girl recently dead is soon raised by the Lord and is said to 
be only sleeping, but Lazarus four days dead was aroused by 
a strong voice, because he was a type of the inveterate sinner. 
Whence Jairus said : " Place your hand on her and she 
lives," as though the raising would be certain and easy ; 
Martha, on the other hand, as though diffident of the raising 
of Lazarus, said to the Lord ordering the sepulcher to be 
opened : " Lord, by this time he stinketh ; for he is now of 
four days." Four days, I say, on account of four causes 
from which this difficulty arises. 

First, from the watchfulness of the devil, who holds his 
slaves captive, and the more strongly the longer they are 
bound to him. The disciples of Christ could not expel the 
demon that possessed the man from his youth (Mark 9). 
As the fly falling into the spider's web, unless he soon extri- 
cates himself, is so wrapped by the spider that he cannot es- 
cape ; so the sinner, unless he soon extricates himself from 
the net of the demon, becomes more and more entangled. 

Secondly, from the crowd of thoughts impeding conversion, 
such as the loss of goods, honors, friends, and other com- 



302 TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. i 

modities, the remembrance of past pleasures, etc. By 
which iron chain St. Augustine confessed himself to have 
been bound. These impediments always increase as an over- 
flowing stream, which if you were scarcely able to cross in the 
morning, much less will you be able in the evening, while in 
the meantime you hope for it to diminish. Many, for in- 
stance, so rarely hear sermons, that at length they are 
ashamed to hear them, nor do they abandon other vices 
which for a long time they have contracted lest their neigh- 
bors will wonder at them if they follow the narrow path and 
repent. 

Thirdly, from personal weakness and feebleness of strength ; 
for the intellect is obscured by sin, the judgment is dulled, 
the will depraved, rebellion of the sensitive appetites in- 
creases, so that the sickness becomes daily. As in a clock, 
if one wheel stops they all stop : so, if the powers of the mind 
become feeble and depraved, the whole man becomes weak. 
Samson with his hair cut could no longer break the rope, 
which he so easily did before. But to break the chain of sin 
is a difficult thing : the love of God above all things is re- 
quired, serious grief for offenses against God, a firm purpose 
of amendment ; all these are not so easily acquired. 

Fourthly, from a contracted habit which is as another na- 
ture. Hence in Jeremias 13 : 23, we read : " If the Ethi- 
opian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots ; you, also, 
may do well when you have learned evil." When Diogenes 
was arguing with a certain wicked man he was asked what he 
should do. " I wash the Ethiopian/- said Diogenes, " to make 
him white," signifying that his labor with the wicked man 
was in vain. The more strokes a nail receives the more 
firmly is it fixed : so the more frequently crimes are commit- 
ted the more strongly are they impressed on the mind and 
it becomes more difficult to remove them. It is believed that, 
when Sisara felt himself affixed to the earth, he moved his 
hand to the nail and tried to extract it (Judg. 4). In vain did 
he strive, for by many strokes it was firmly fixed in the floor. 
So when the sinner shall feel the blows of deathly sickness, 
he tries to extract the nail of bad habit, but how difficult it 
is. What shall be the end of such a life ? Shall it not be 
bad ? Search all the Scriptures, and you will find nothing 
more frequently than what man sowed, that also did he 
reap, as he was in life, so was he in death. " For every tree 
is known by its fruit. For men do not gather figs from 



WHY PENANCE SHOULD NOT BE PUT OFF. 303 

thorns : nor from a bramble bush do they gather the grape " 
(Luke 6 : 44). " For her house inclineth unto death, and her 
paths to hell " (Prov. 2:18). He, therefore, whose life, 
whose thoughts, words and works, always incline to hell, 
whither at length shall he go unless to hell ? He who walks 
here in interior darkness, whither shall he go unless into ex- 
terior darkness ? 

VII. Because it is stupid, when you can, not to wish to 
eject the enemy immediately ; this Pharao did when asked 
by Moses when he wished to be relieved of the plague of frogs 
— to-morrow he answered. The frogs of your sins are always 
with you tormenting you, and yet you do not wish to be re- 
lieved from them to-day, but to-morrow. It is stupid to 
choose the uncertain and let go the certain. To-day is cer- 
tain for you, to-morrow uncertain. 

" Let go the uncertain and hold the certain," says St. 
Augustine. 



TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTE- 
COST. 

SIX PLACES OF REFUGE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. 



I. The Faith of the Catholic Church, and obedience to her teach- 
ings. II. The tribunal of penance. III. Works of mercy. IV. 
Earnest and constant prayer. V. An ever present fear of and 
meditation on the judgment. VI. Entrance into the religious 
state, or other like state of security. 

" Then they that are in Judea, let them flee into the mountains " (Matt. 24 : 16). 

Great indeed was the favor which God showed to the 
family of the just Lot, when he sent his two angels to warn 
it and to rescue it from the fiery destruction that was to 
come upon Sodom : but greater far the favor that he showed 
us when he sent his only Son, Christ, the Angel of Great 
Counsel, to forewarn us of the coming and final destruction 
of the world, and the day of Judgment. This does Christ 
in to-day's Gospel. Angels warned Lot to flee from the 
burning of his home : but Christ, the master of Angels, 
warns us to flee from the destruction of the world, and the 
anger of a wrathful God. 

The Angels commanded that no one look behind him in 
the flight : Christ, that he who is in the fields, return not 
to take his coat, and that he who is on the housetop, descend 
not first into his house. The Angels said : " Save thyself 
in the mountain": Christ, "Then let them that are in 
Judea flee to the mountains/' What are these mountains, 
to which we should betake ourselves if we would hide from 
the wrath to come ? 

In the old law, God ordered that there be set aside six 
cities, within which he who had unwillingly taken blood 
might seek refuge, and thus escape the death penalty at the. 

304 



SIX PLACES OF REFUGE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. 305 

hands of the relatives of him whom he had killed : and the 
six were so set aside after the coming of the children of 
Israel into the promised land. 

Thns also do we find set aside for us just so many places 
of refuge wherein we may lie hidden from the wrath of that 
pursuing God, whose only Son we have too often, and even 
wilfully, killed. 

I. The faith of the Catholic Church and obedience to her 
teachings in the first of these God-given places of safety. 
St. Ambrose and St. Basil commenting on the words of the 
Psalmist: "the rocks are a refuge for the conies, " tell us 
that the sea-cony, foreseeing the tempest, cleaves with all 
its strength to the nearest rock, that it may not be washed 
up to its death on the dry sands of the shore. Thus also 
must we cling steadfastly to the rock upon which is built the 
Catholic Church, if we would weather the tempests that rage 
about us. As no one outside the ark escaped the flood and 
its attendant destruction ; so also will no one, refusing God's 
imitation, be saved outside the Catholic Church. Whence 
says the Lord, " He that does not believe, is already judged" 
(Jno. 4 : 18). 

Since, however, faith alone cannot save, and since there 
are, even within the Church, good and bad, sheep and goats, 
just as in the ark there were animals both clean and unclean ; 
so it must be distinctly borne in mind that he, who would 
stand with confidence at the judgment, must also obey the 
ordinances of the Church and of her Prelates, and must 
prove himself a sheep of the fold of Christ. Thus, on that 
last day, will Christ call the elect standing on his right hand, 
sheep ; and the wicked on his left, goats ; because the former 
like the gentle sheep have hearkened to him and have followed 
his shepherd voice whithersoever it directed, as he himself 
has said, " My sheep hear my voice, and follow me ; " but the 
latter — the wicked — like unto goats, have ever turned aside 
to the hillsides and would not be kept in the beaten path. 
Reason itself manifests that, if the Church and her Prelates 
point out the way, they alone will be unseverable for us on 
that awful day ; and that we, the unresisting sheep, who 
have followed the guidance of the Church, obeyed her pre- 
cepts, and hearkened ever to the voice of her Prelates 
and Shepherds, will revel in the rich, nourishing pastures 
of the word of God and of the Sacraments, and will be held 
wholly unaccountable when the Judge comes to his judgment. 

20 



306 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

Therefore, "in obedience," says St. Jerome, "not only is the 
mind relieved from giving an accounting of those committed 
to it, but even from an accounting of itself. 0, height of 
liberty, wherein man can scarcely sin ! " 

If the blind man be led among the growing crops and 
trample them down, will not he who led him thither be ac- 
counted the wrongdoer ? So much the more the shepherd 
that has led his sheep astray. Plutarch tells us that a little 
fish called " the leader" is given to each of the great mon- 
sters of the deep to direct its course, lest perchance it run 
upon the shallows or enter into narrows whence there might 
be no exit. Absolute is the dependence of the monster upon 
its little guide ; for when the little one stops, the big one 
also rests, and when the little one goes forward, the big one 
must perforce follow ; and many indeed have perished and 
have been thrown upon the land because they essayed to 
move without their leader. God has given to Christians an 
example, in this big fish, of the proper obedience to his 
Church and her prelates. " Whatsoever the religion and 
Wisdom of the layman," says Basil, " never let him cease to 
be a sheep," since he ought to follow the leading of the 
Church and his spiritual director, and thus avoid the shal- 
lows and the rocks of the divine judgment. 

II. The tribunal of Penance. St. John the Baptist, be- 
holding those who had come to him out of Jerusalem, to 
confess their sins, wondered who had shown them this saving 
refuge : ' ' Ye brood of vipers, who hath showed you the way 
to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore, fruits 
worthy of penance" (Matt. 3 : 7, 8). 

St. Gregory, commenting on these words, says that the 
anger to come is the final, avenging castigation which the 
sinner cannot then escape who does not now betake himself 
to tears of penance. "Let penance run apace," says Peter 
Crysologus, "lest the condemnation outstrip it ; and lest we 
be judged, let us be the judges." Thus did the Ninivites, 
hastening to do penance, forestall the Judge and avert his 
decree of divine wrath. Compare the tribunal of penance 
with the tribunal of the Judge to come, and note the gentle- 
ness of the one and the unbearable rigor of the other. Here, 
the penitent examines his own conscience ; there, with ac- 
cusing angels and saints standing round about, will it be 
examined by a relentless Judge ; here, grief and contrition 
will avail ; there, but gnawing despair will be left ; here, a 



SIX PLACES OF EEFUGE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. 307 

light penance ; there, the pain of an eternal hell ; here, for- 
giveness ; there, damnation. 

Who would not most willingly undergo this light judg- 
ment, that he might thus escape that other, fraught with 
such terrible rigor ? Do we not drink bitter draughts, 
undergo painful privations, and even suffer the life's blood 
to be drained from us, that we may avoid a temporary ill- 
ness ? Then, why will we not drink deeply of the bitterness 
of penance, that we may avoid a death, terrible and eternal ? 
Therefore judge thyself by daily examinations, and then in 
frequent confessions " strive to empty the fetid sink of 
vices" (St. Augustine). 

III. Works of mercy : for to such is promised great 
security in the day of Judgment : " Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy " (Matt. 5:7); and again, 
" Alms shall be a great confidence before the most high God, 
to all them that give it " (Tobi. 4 : 12). " Alms," says St. 
Chrysostom, " stands at the tribunal of Christ, not alone as 
an advocate, but as one persuading the Judge to accept the 
advocate in the place of the criminal." With what lightness 
of heart would not he, who is about to contend for the 
doctor's degree, approach the examination, had he one to 
instruct him and solve beforehand the very questions that 
would surely be asked ! This does alms : for as we know 
that God's examination will be especially concerning works 
of mercy, it provides us beforehand with the answers to his 
questions. " What shall I do ? For my master takes away 
from me my stewardship," thought the faithless steward, 
when he knew that he must give an accounting. And was 
it not alms-giving, even out of the goods of his master, that 
suggested itself to his mind as his only refuge ? And the 
master praised him, because he had done well. 

If then, because of age or infirmity, you cannot dig, that 
is to say, chastise the body by fastings and other voluntary 
afflictions : or again, if you are unable to assist at prayer, 
because of the exaction of your business, public and private, 
then hasten, as did the wise steward, to make unto thyself 
friends of the children of Mammon. 

The scarlet rope hanging from the window of Eaab was a 
guarantee of safety and mercy to all that household, because 
by that same rope had mercy been done, when by it the ex- 
plorers were lowered from the city's walls. It was to Eaab 
a shield surpassing embattled walls. He, therefore, who does 



308 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

mercy will by the same token be secure at the Judgment ; 
for he has but to say, will yon not, God, have pity on him 
who was ever mindful of yours ? 

IV. Earnest and constant prayer. This was assuredly the 
meaning of Christ when, having foretold the Judgment, he 
added : " Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you 
may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are 
I to come, and to stand before the Son of man " (Luke 21 : 36). 
Note here that it is only earnest and continual prayer that 
will save us from the anger to come. Therefore they do 
little or nothing, who pray but rarely. Our Lord also teaches 
the same in that parable of the king who, wishing to join 
battle with an enemy more powerful than he, first sits down 
and considers whether with his ten thousand soldiers he 
should go out to meet him who is coming with twenty 
thousand, and, if he foresees that his forces are unequal to the 
task, sends to his enemy while yet a long way off and asks 
those things that tend towards peace. Thus would our Lord 
admonish us to go out and meet afar off the Eternal King, 
who is even now on his way with an army of untold Angels 
and Saints. Since then we can never cope with his strength 
and power, for as Job says, we cannot oppose even one to his 
thousands, let us now, whilst he is at a great distance, that 
is to say, at the present moment, send forward an embassy 
of fervent prayer, and make our peace with him. If we do 
not anticipate him before he is obliged to come with his 
army, then will his anger be more bitter, from the fact that 
we have contemned the wealth of his goodness, patience, and 
long suffering, and have but laid up to ourselves treasures 
of a God's wrath. Is it not so with the kings of the earth ? 
Does not the anger of a king grow apace with the persever- 
ance of the rebels, and their refusal to sue for pardon, or to 
humble themselves before him, until finally the day comes 
when he takes up arms to crush the rebellion and will abso- 
lutely ignore any plea for mercy ? Therefore, lest at some 
time we offend an irate God, let us hasten to appease him. 
So admonishes St. Augustine : " A pacified God is our only 
refuge from an angry God," alluding most likely to the 
woman, who, having asked the aid of Caesar, who would not 
in his anger hear her, cried out that she would appeal to 
Caesar. "To what Caesar will you appeal?" said he: to 
whom the woman replied : " From Caesar angered, to Caesar 
pacified." With like effect did a woman appeal from Phillip 



SIX PLACES OF REFUGE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. 309 

sleeping to Phillip awake. Christ now watches and waits 
for us : let us then appeal to him watching and waiting ; for 
he, also, will be at some time asleep, and perhaps will not be 
awakened in time. 

V. Constant fear and thought of judgment : for it is writ- 
ten : " With him that feareth the Lord, it shall go well in 
the last" (Eccl. 1 :13). Whoever fears that day will so 
direct his actions that he offend not God, nor fall upon his 
anger. The steersman who would keep his ship from the 
rocks stands guiding it from the stern and not from the 
prow ; and thus the soul, the pilot of our life, will direct all 
things successfully if it keeps the eye steadfastly upon the 
last judgment. Holy Job testifies to the same : '* What 
shall I do, when God shall rise to judge ? and when he shall 
examine, what shall I answer him " (Job 31 : 14) ; and he 
himself answers : " I feared all my works, knowing that thou 
didst not spare the offender" (Job 9 : 28). St. Jerome also : 
" Whether I eat, or drink, or whatever else I do, those words 
are always sounding in my ears : Arise, ye dead, and come to 
judgment, and my soul and body tremble with a great fear 
at the very thought." And still further on he adds : " Nor 
have I ever had a joy that could banish from my mind the 
bitterness of the judgment to come." So also the Abbot 
Amon : ' c Put yonrself in the place of one confined in prison : 
does he not continually ask : Where is the judge, and when 
will he come ? and in his fearful expectation, does he not be- 
wail the punishment that is to fall upon him with the coming 
of the judge ? " So also do you say to your soul : Woe is me, 
if I forget that fearful tribunal, and the account that I must 
give ! Did I but continually meditate thereon, I would be 
saved ! 

VI. Finally, there is a mountain wholly secure, which I 
shall point out, although it may not be altogether attractive 
to you. Renounce the world, and seek safety from its storms 
and tempests in a life of perfection wholly given to the 
direct service of God. The old fable about the swallows is 
to the point. When first man began to sow flax, the swallow 
advised his fellow birds to prevent the sowing of the seed, for 
that would lay danger to their whole race. But they laughed 
at the would-be prophet. Again, when the flax peeped forth 
from the ground and began to take on a young strength, did 
he beg them to pluck it up by the roots : and still did they 
laugh him to scorn. In the fulness of the season, again did 



310 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

he exhort them to lay waste the ripened crops ; and wheil 
they would not even yet hearken to him, he left the assembly 
of birds and made to himself a compact with man, living 
thereafter with him, and coaxing him to kindness with cheer- 
ful twitterings at his very door-posts. Truly a wonderful 
lesson to the other birds, since from flax are made nets and 
snares for their destruction ! Wouldst know what the fable 
means ? Then listen. God sows his flax when he writes 
down against us the sentence of condemnation according to 
our merits ; and his flax is ripened when the judgment is at 
hand. Let us pluck up the seeds by serious and constant 
repentance and change of life ; even though the world stand 
and laugh at us, and perhaps impede our every effort. And 
if you would be assuredly safer, flee from the dangers of the 
world, and enter into a state of perfection, where there will 
be only God and his divine service. Notwithstanding the 
explicit command of the angel that they flee to the moun- 
tain, did not Lot's wife, fearful of the fatigue, wish to stop 
in the little town of Segor that lay at the foot of the hills ? 
And even so do I expect you to murmur. Difficult indeed 
is the ascent of the mountain of religion, and it is a hard 
road to the many : therefore would they stay in Segor, that is, 
in a state not wholly removed from the world and its allure- 
ments. Note the extreme solicitude with which the mer- 
chant chooses his road that he may bring his goods safely 
home. Does not he who would cross a broad and precipitate 
river with his goods upon his shoulders, trusting solely to 
his ability as a swimmer, run the imminent danger of losing 
both life and goods ? He who commits himself and his 
goods to a skiff is more prudent, although he still in- 
vites destruction from the rocks and the whirlpools : and even 
if he load his goods upon a merchant vessel, he has yet the 
great tempests and storms with which to contend. He only 
is perfectly secure who seeks the bridge, even be it out of his 
way, and hard of access. The world is this vast and swift 
ruin in which they are completely engulfed who are wholly 
given over to its worries and cares. Others there are who 
use the world as if they did not use it ; not altogether carried 
along by it, but kept therein by family ties ; and these are 
somewhat more secure. But he who passes over the world 
upon the bridge of religion, is wholly without fear ; since 
the protecting sides of the bridge shut out even the sight of 
the madly rushing waters below. Let each one then measure 



SIX PLACES OF REFUGE FROM THE WRATH TO COME. 3H 

his own strength, and presume not too far. If he be unwill- 
ing to seek the bridge, let him at least embark in a merchant 
vessel ; and if this be too great an undertaking, then let him 
by all means take a skiff ; but under no circumstances should 
he, solely relying upon his own natural strength, commit 
himself and his weight of cares and business to the swiftly 
running current of the world. 

Whilst the elect are fleeing to the mountain, what are the 
rejected doing ? Just what the inhabitants of Sodom long 
ago did under like circumstances : " Likewise as it came to 
pass in the days of Lot : They did eat and drink, they 
bought and sold, they planted and built. And in the day 
that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone 
from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be 
in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed " (Luke 
17 : 28-30). And woe and alas ! how many there are to-day 
like unto thern ! 

The day will come when, all too late and in vain, they will 
call upon these mountains : " Fall upon us, and hide us from 
the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the 
wrath of the Lamb " (Apoc. 6 : 16). Let them make use 
of the advice here given, and flee now to those mountains, 
that they may lie secure on the great day that is to come. 



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Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, of New York, and we 
trust there is not a member of the society in the country who will 
not read this life of one of the founders, in fact, we may say the 
founder, of the great and useful Society of St. Vincent de Paul." — 
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The Iroquois and the Jesuits. A story of the labors of the 
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Teaching Truth by Signs and Ceremonies ; or, The Church, 
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James L. Meagher. 12mo, fine cloth. 39 Editions. One of 
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Man the Mirror of the Universe ; or, the Agreement of Science 
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Marriage and Family Duties. By the Most Rev. Archbishop 
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Battlefields of Ireland. From 1688 to 1691, including Limerick, 
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Anglican Orders. The Bull of Pope Leo XIII. Against 
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Gropings after Truth. A life journey from New England 
Congregationalism to the one Catholic and Apostolic Church. 
By Joshua Huntington. Price, 45c. 

Seven Gates of Heaven; or, the Teachings, Disciplines, Cus- 
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Defense of Catholic Principles. To which is added An Appeal 
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Symbolism of Early Christianity, from the Catacombs of Rome^ 
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The Interior Christian. In eight books, containing maxims of 
great importance, to conduct us in a spiritual life. By M. 
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O'Reilly's Life of Pope Leo XIII. By Right Rev. Mgr. 
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New edition, with 76 pages new matter added by the author, 
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Socialism and the Church ; or, Henry George vs. Archbishop 
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Soul on Calvary. Meditating on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, 
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Festal Year; or, the Origin, History, Ceremonies and Meanings 
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Glories of the Sacred Heart. By Cardinal Manning. Net, 75c. 
" In this book I have intentionally confined myself to the dog- 
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firmly that when divine truth is fully and duly apprehended, it 
generates devotion ; that one cause of shallowness in the spiritual 
life is a superficial apprehension of the dogma of the Incarnation ; 
and that one divine purpose in the institution and diffusion of the 
devotion of the Sacred Heart, in these last times, is to reawaken in 
the minds of men the consciousness of t^heir personal relation to a 
Divine Master." — Preface. 

Challoner's Meditations, For every Day in the Year. Contain- 
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Father Mack. This is a beautiful Story written by a noted Hu- 
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Christ's Kingdom on Earth ; or, The Church and her Divine 
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New Testament. Of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Trans- 
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Holy Bible. (Douay Version.) Translated from the Latin Vul- 
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Hornihold. The Commandments and Sacraments Explained in 
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Catechetical Instructions of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. From 
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Catechism of Council of Trent. Published by command of 
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This is the translation of the Roman Catechism, which was com- 
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Sacerdotus Vade-Mecum. Seu Rubricae Generales Missalis 
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The Christian at Mass ; or An Explanation of the Mass in all its 
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The Question Box ; or Answers to Objections Against the 
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Lectures to Mixed Congregations. By Rev. G. F. Lentz. 
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Sermons on Ecclesiastical Subjects. By Manning. American 

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Notes of a Missionary Priest in the Kocky Mountains. Illus- 
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The Complete Historical Catechism ; or Flury's Short Historical 
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Bossuet's Exposition of Christian Doctrine, in matters with 
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The Spirit of St. Alphonsus De Liguori. A Spiritual Treatise. 
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The Protesting Christian. Standing before the Judgment-Seat 
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Catholic Controversy. A Reply to Dr. Littledale's " Plain 
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Religious Missions Among the Irish and Catholic Coloniza- 
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Threshold of the Catholic Church. A course of plain instruc- 
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Curious Questions. By Rev. H. A. Brann, D. D. Fine cloth. 
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Elia ; or Spain Fifty Years Ago. A beautiful story. By Fernand 
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The Spirit of Faith. What must I do to be Saved ? By Rt. Rev. 

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Visits to the Blessed Sacrament for every day in the month. 
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Way of Salvation. Meditations for every day in the year. By 
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Triumph of Religion ; or a choice selection of edifying narratives. 
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Poor Man's Controversy. " Be always ready to give an account 
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Questions on Vocations. A Catechism of instruction for the 
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Lenten Sermons. From the Italian of Father Segneri, S. J. 2 
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Nouet's Meditations on the Life and Passion of Our Lord 
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Our author commences with the first Sunday in Advent, by medi- 
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Oakeley on Catholic Worship. A Manual of Popular Instruc- 
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Oakeley on the Mass. The Order and Ceremonial of the Most 
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Converts and inquirers after religious truths frequently expe- 
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Journal of Eugenie de Guerin. Edited by G. S. Trebutien. 
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Letters of Eugenie de Guerin. Edited by G. S. Trebutien. 
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Nellie Netterville ; or, One of the Transplanted. A tale of the 
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Pearl. By Kathleen O'Meara. " This is a novel of English and 
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A Winged Word, and other Stories. By Mary Agnes Tincker. 
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